the reason humans are in the fix they are in is because they are social.  they cannot make it on their own.  they need others approval.  think of is this way...if everyone died except you...would you bother combing your hair and taking good care of yourself and staying in shape, exercising, wearing clean clothes, etc...?  the answer is no.  humans are social and you cannot separate the social from the human.  they live to be accepted and loved by other humans.  granted, you could go live alone on an island and never see another human again and you could survive, but that is only after you have been indoctrinated into the human world by beeing born...so you've already become socially bound to the human race through language.  you can never separate the social from the human...even if you went and lived on a mountain, if you have a thought in your head, it comes from human language and that is what makes you social.  i don't just make this stuff up, it was all taught to us due to curriculam requirements in upper division sociology in college.  i actually have put this to the test recently, although not by choice.  but, because of my depression and not knowing anyone here and just staying alone for months without much human contact at all except the computer, i can tell you for certain we all live to be accepted and loved by other humans and that it is a need (maslow was right).  the reason i know this for sure is because i stopped doing all the behaviors i used to do before, like showering and brushing my hair and getting dressed and doing laundry and cleaning...the list goes on.  i figure what's it matter, there is no one around to see it or me anyway.  i am not saying this so you will counsel me, so plz do not, and don't worry because i have a game plan now and i think i will be ok.  i am saying this stuff to make my point. 

you say you don't look to other people for acceptance.  no, you do, it is just that you don't look to others who don't agree with you, for acceptance.  we are attacted to others who share our beliefs.  but, you have established your belief system and only seek approval by those who share your beliefs, not those who attack you or tell you that you are wrong.  you say you know yourself an are not brainwashed.  well, that discovery of yourself came from seeking love and acceptance from other humans.  now, it is established in you.  but, you still have a need to be loved and accepted by other humans.  you cannot get rid of that.  that would be separating the social from the human and that is impossible. 

no, the church plays the same role here, a small one.  most americans do not go to church.  most say they believe in god but don't pray unless they are in crisis.  god does come up more in the media and with the people here in times of war, so that may explain what you have seen and heard. 

some of the stuff i said above may go over your head.  it is college material and we were lectured over and over until we got it enough to pass our tests.  it is proven.  the difference between sociological theory and psychological, is that former has to be provem through scientific methodology and the latter does not.  they use different methodologies in psych and are able to call things theories when in fact they did not meet the criteria of a theory.  a theory must be proven by repeating the scientific method in order to be called a theory, at least in sociology, but like i said, not in psychology.  but i chose sociology because of it's rigid requirements of proof.  you probably have no idea what i am rambling about. 

the herd you talk about that you are not a part of...you are part of one..just a much smaller one.  if there were not many others who share your beliefs, you wouldn't have them, because it would be one against 6 billion and that wouldn't make any sense. 

the part about the marine grunt and banding together, i that is necessary for humans.  it is just that humans only do that in small groups, they cannot band together in large enough groups to help their condition and that is why the world is in such a mess.  but, i believe we need those grunting groups, just as we need sports:  http://curezone.com/blogs/m.asp?f=1184&i=240