Philosophy of War

Way back in my first undergrad degree I took a class with an amazing prof, Paul Viminitz. The class was called Philosophy of War, and it covered many topics including socialization. Paul pointed out that society is trying to become less violent by removing war toys from children, but that may be harming society in general. Why? Because when conflict arises again, the younger generation won't be prepared to fight. He pointed to the example of Israel, a nation that will never again stand passively by when faced with aggression... and I now remember the Tree House of Horror with the Monkey Paw. Lisa wishes for peace and the aliens come and take over Earth after we throw away all the weapons, Ned Flanders fixes the situation by wishing them away and the scene cuts to Moe chasing an alien with a "board with a nail in it!". Reading one of my newly found blogs (mackenty.org) today, I saw this post that references a New Scientist article about game violence. It suggests that violent games essentially stimulate that part of the brain that is normally associated with aggression. I am wondering what is wrong with that - if one never learns how to control aggression, then there could be serious repercussions later. If we never prepare for war, and never try to remember what it was, will be ill prepared for it the next time. Games can help with this task, in detailing the horror. If we never learn from the past, the ignorance of it will not protect us from it's return.