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In Queen Ant We Trust Is man the only true patriot or do animals too have this sense of pride that sets them apart from other realms of their own species? Mark Twain seems to think, based on his essay The Lowest Animal, that man is the only patriot and that he will kill his own kind only too later wash the blood off of his hands (176). However, man, contrary to Twain s beliefs, is not the only patriot of the animal kingdom. It is true that man does set himself apart in his own country, with his own flag, and sneers at other nations, but in a similar way so do some animals. They may not have their own flag and country, but they do have territories and followers that sneer at other groups.
Like Americans going to war to defend their interests so do the red ants (aristhisis) of northern Africa. The wars of man have been studied and well known since the begging of time. Man would go to battle over simple, seemingly unimportant things for centuries. Sometimes a leader stating that the battle was in the nation s best interest rationalizes these wars. The north African red ants are similar to man in this respect. Although it has not been studied as long, much has been learned from this small creature.
National Geographic Television states that these red ants viciously attack each other for reasons as trivial as an ant from another mound crossing its path in the daily gathering. The show further informs the viewer that these army ants always go and see the queen ant before any action is taken. Twain also writes of man s assassins who protect slices of their land from opposing countries and try to capture other country s land This is also true of the red ants. The scout ants keep a constant watch over ants of the nearby mounds.
These scout ants inform the army ants of the group when it is time to protect or attempt to seize. Much like a country attempting to gain the wealth of another country, the red ants will attempt to steal food from a bordering mound. Following a war amongst men they generally ignore the loss of life and either chalk it up to a win or a loss. Twain thinks of this as man washing the blood off his hands to work toward the universal brotherhood of man (176).
The ants also seem to follow this so-called mortal way of thinking. After a battle, win or loss, the ants see the losses not as deaths of their own kind, but rather causalities of war that had to be dispensed for the better of the mound. When the ants loose they, much like mortals, see the lose of assets over the waste of life. The aspect in which these two creatures differ however is during the battles. Today men fight their battles with weapons and rarely go out to a battlefield. The ants, however, fight wars much like men did in earlier times.
Swarms of army ants move rapidly toward another mound prepared for whatever may come their way. When the opposing assassin ants notice the threat they too send out their army ants to protect their beloved mound and queen. It is then a fight to the death. The mound with any army ants living at the end of the war moves into the opposing mound, kills their queen, and assumes control of the mound. The two species, man and north African ant, do differ in many ways from each other. Each led a different way of life that is not too similar.
However, it is incorrect for Twain to write about man as the only patriot when other species, such as some ants, follow many similar customs of patriotism as man.
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