It may be absurd to attempt to build a case on the idea that in the near future wars may be "played out" on some chess board, bridge table, or tennis court, but with the advent of simulation games, there is a new glimmer of hope that mankind may yet be able to vent its aggressiveness through less destructive avenues than in the past. I believe that a credible statement promoting this notion is in order.

Historically, and it is certainly no secret, man has consistently displayed evidence that conflict is somewhere close to his basic nature. With this kind of overwhelming data it is no wonder that he has accepted the assumption that wars were an inevitability, and he has proceeded to repeatedly prove out this "truth."

Our on-going battlefields on a world wide scale give credence to how locked-in we still are to this worn belief. Whenever we are confronted with the logic of it or called to explain the why of it, we usually shrug our shoulders and try to rationalize away our bizarre behavior by concluding that there must be no other way. We have almost convinced ourselves that there are no other alternatives to the resolution of conflict and that we cannot be expected to be more sane or more humane, and so we continue building arsenals of destruction.

In so doing, we've polarized our thinking into mind sets that can eventually lead us to our own self destruction. Through this extreme polarization we've limited the possibility of even seriously seeking other means of venting or resolving aggressions.

Now with the introduction and mass production of simulation games there is an indication that we may be able to at least delay if not prevent our own moment ot truth. Even more hopeful is the sales promotion and distribution of these kinds of activities into the classrooms and centers of mental health services. The next positive step would be to work them into the political arenas and management offices where power plays and decision makets plot out and determine our trends.

As I meandered through the toy sections of the various stores throughout Southern California this past holiday season, I noted with increasing interest the hundreds of games on the shelves. They ranged from simple puzzles to intricate arrangements for the entire family. The endless variety revolved around the performing of elementary skills up to highly complex designs that dealt with the social-psychological dimensions of man's attitudes and behaviors. Many of the exercises involved basic feelings and emotions as well as drawing upon the mental skills ot the players.

A forerunner of this type of activity, of course, is Monopoly, a set up whereby a whole group interacts with each other for hours at a time and at various levels of competitiveness. Now with the newer developments there are many, many others, more wholistic and more realistic, more inclusive of man when he functions as a total being at this stage.

The population may be increasingly attracted to these contemporary games in order to attend to their needs and to relieve themselves of some of the old frustration and anxieties that have plagued them. They may now see a possibility to function in less destructive ways. In this manner old behavioral pattems and attitudes may become less important and eventually phased out by the organism itself.

It might be feasible that man has finally evolved to a degree of higher consciousness that now enables him to see and encompass other means of expressing himself. He may now be in the process of rearranging some of his basic priorities that have served to hold him down to past truths.

To further expand on this notion: (especially for those of us who are deeply concemed and fantasize a future when man may live in a more wholesome setting and when his existence has dearer meanings than what he has had). I envision a time when an individual might select himself to "do a game" designed specifically to work out his own particular anxieties.

It may not be too far-fetched to foresee a time when a person or groups of people might go up to a place with a "War, Inc." marquee lighted above it designating a laboratory where such activities would be readily available. The "game dispensatory" would be a natural space for such expressions and there would be no need for enemy lands and battlegrounds as in the old sense.

In the study of human behavior there are theories that attest to the fact that man has been a dangerous animal from the very start, and that it is feasible to suppose that those who survived were those who profited by violence. It is conceptualized that these forefathers in turn passed on their genes to those of us who followed after them. If this idea has validity, then it may be impossibb to ever be completely passive or non-violent. But there is a possibility and a need for the human organism to breed-out some of its in-bred animalistic pre-dispositions.

The human systems, a delicate composite of intricately interwoven networks molded by multi-faceted factors may have to transcend itself before it is able to phase out some of these traits. There may not be time to wait around to accomplish this feat. As our tensions mount and we strive to relieve the stress, we may have to push the organism out of its bizarre paranoia and thereby by-pass our own annihilation.

Heretofore games primarily involved the physical or logical and in the past they have had their special place. But they have never been regarded as essential to or ever included in the serious decision-making part of our livingness. Today, as man has more and more bisure time made available to him and he seeks pleasurable outlets, less serious activities become a greater part of his total experience. There is now an opportunity of seeking less harmful ways of being with one another.

In the new games, the players are able to actually participate expenentially, acting out their anger, their frustration, their tensions and their need for pulling power plays. These new outlets may not be sufficient to allow us to work through to healthier paths, but the possibility is greater today. Hopefully we won't be too late to help ourselves evolve to higher levels of consciousness that will enable us to encompass still more worthwhile pursuits as more meaningful substitutes for the lethal games we've been playing.

Each of us may be instrumental in speeding up the process: the next time we feel a compulsion to pull a "cut-throat" caper or to "get even" with someone, or if we note that we are entertaining the desire to be destructive, we might pause and take ourselves up to the nearest game place. There are many labels and there might be a specially proper one fitting the occasion. Very soon now there will be other ones, many of them dealing with various aspects of the human condition: "Love and Hate;" "Life and Death;" "Fear and Courage;" "Master and Slave;" "Conflict;" "Depression;" "Survival;" "Decision;" "Diplomacy;" "Trust;" "Catastrophe;" "Guilt;" "Rage;" "Assassination;" etc. If you take one home and try it on the family and friends, it may be the best living investment and contribution you can make to yourself and to a longer and healthier mankind.