I need a thesis statement!

dwarren, you may be closer to nature than most people are.  You participate and troubleshoot problems in an online forum... which is not too far removed from the nature of the animals in the backyard.  While we as human beings are different from most other animals in that we are inherently selfish, those of us who work for a common goal or interest of the community are more like the tiny creatures under our feet.

Ants, which will comprise the vast majority of creatures you would have observed in that 10 X 10 space, are the epitomy of  "working for the common good of the community".  No ant is selfish by nature, but totally selfless.  Some of my most memorable observations of nature has been watching the comings and goings of ants.  I once saw an ant carrying a twig and negotiating its way through the grass to its colony.  The twig may have been an appendage of another insect....I couldn't tell.  But what was fascinating about it was the similar way the ant got that twig through the grasses compared to how a human would carry a 2 X 4 board through the obstacle course of a room during remodeling.  It turned, pivoted completely around and walked backward at one point to negotiate past an obstacle.  It looked very human while doing that.

That made me laugh a little at my human superiority.  It wasn't the ant who was acting with almost human intelligence while negotiating an obstacle course with a 2 X 4... rather, it is us humans who use the instincts of an ant when we carry the board.  Social insects, like the ants, are very much like us...or should I say we are like them?  They band together to get jobs done, communicate with each other just like we would talk, work together for the health and well-being of the community and at the end of the day go to sleep.  They have predators to look out for and will attack the enemy in force if backed against a wall.  Humans have predators to look out for, too.

So, dwarren, you and the rest of us who participate in discussions and problem-solving for the good of the community are very much like those thousands of other animals you observed in that plot of ground.  It is the human who shuns society and limits his involvement to satisfy his own needs only who has distanced himself from nature.

I think you can get a thesis statement out of that.

thank you to Paul and stevdart. auex you just humored me.

stevdart, you have inspired me to say the least. I probbaly will pull something from your response. I need to brainstorm this one a little more an put it on paper. The essay is due next week and I will post the results when I know the outcome.

Don't let this be the end of resonses though. Thanks.