If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.

-- Mahatma Gandhi

The 40th Anniversary box celebrating GI Joe -- 1964 to 2004 -- states that, "For nearly 40 years GI Joe has captivated the imagination of generations of kids, with no end in sight!"

No end in sight? A perpetual war?

An array of GI Joe action figures, made in China -- and other action figures whose purpose is to advance the goals of "The Global Federation" -- is available at the Altus Wal-Mart, and the packaging reminds us of the reason for its existence: "GI Joe, America's daring, highly trained special mission force, faces a fearsome new threat from the evil COBRA organization. DR. MINDBENDER has joined the DNA of COBRA fighters with that of the Earth's most savage creatures, creating hybrid warriors with dangerously superior fighting skills. To fight these V TROOPS, the GI Joe team develops advanced battle technology. It's a thrilling new chapter in the battle to protect freedom and justice for GI Joe, a real American hero."

Children, said the Rev. Robert Moore, executive director of the Coalition for Peace Action, based in Princeton, N.J., are being acculturated through these war toys to accept the perpetuity of war. "The first time there's a conflict , you say, 'Send in the Marines.' The whole idea of war is pretty much accepted," Moore said. "We need kids to have what they consider normalcy reframed in a different direction."

Moore, a pastor with the United Church of Christ, has been "doing peace-making as my full-time ministry for 20 years."

To reframe in the minds of children the concepts of war, he said, is biblical. He points to the vision of the prophet Isaiah: "... they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."

"We need to live that vision in the present," Moore said.

The organization's Web site -- peacecoalition.org -- puts forth that when children play war games they learn to create two sides, "ours" and "theirs;" solve arguments by fighting; use guns and other war equipment as toys; praise and reward the use of violence and physical strength; start fights and make enemies; pretend people don't suffer and die in a war; make war seem like an OK thing to do; and make boys seem more important than girls.

War toys, it says, offer children an outlet for aggression, adding that, "Such feelings are perfectly normal. It is important, however, that aggression be expressed in non-violent rather than violent ways."

Children, he emphasized, are not born inherently violent. Violence, he said, is a learned behavior. A 3-year-old who is given carte blanche to act out his aggression through tough-as-nails action heroes, he said, is going to think, "Of course, that's what everybody does."

And what of video games, which are becoming more and more violent? It is a development that Moore finds "very distressing."

"I don't want kids to be seeing people having their guts ripped out," he said.

Derek Kirby, a licensed practicing counselor at the Jackson County Memorial Hospital Counseling Center and a facilitating pastor of Altus' Cowboy Church, sees another side of the toys in his practice.

"Toys can be used for good or bad," Kirby said.

Boys, he said, are trying to show their masculinity and stability, whereas girls tend more to nurturing aspects.

"A lot of them are just sublimating their need to have power," he said - to see themselves not as powerless, but as able to have control in this life or some future goal.

By observing children at play with their action figure of choice, Kirby said, "They explain to us how this world is." The therapist is able to get a picture of their anger and frustration -- they tell stories with action figures. It's helpful to allow them to "sublimate in the midst of the storm."

Are Mom and Dad angry? Maybe a divorce is in the offing.

In therapy, Kirby said, kids usually pick out an age-appropriate toy. The more violent the toy, and the more aggressive the child's play, "it probably means issues are going on in that family, and that child is trying to show us."

Many times kids use the toys to get rid of their anger, Kirby explained -- not a bad thing, and it could be that the child is showing a lot of imagination. But a lot of times they're obsessed. "There's something going on with the person if we're obsessing." And that, he said, includes adults who squander hours on end with violent Xbox or GameBoy adventures.

"I really think it comes back to the parents, he said. "If I become a violent person, I do influence my kids and I do influence the way they act in the world."

Schools, Kirby feels, have become powerless in the arena of morals and lifestyle. "Let's have a little more of a handle on what our kids are doing," he said. Get down on the floor with them. Watch and monitor their play. He suggests less TV, more board games and more activities together as a family.

Kirby emphasizes the need for direction in our lives: "Do we have purpose or not?"