One of the most important contributions of Donald Trump to human culture is enable us to witness how dumb ideas can proliferate in society. And to demonstrate how otherwise intelligent human beings endlessly debate these dumb ideas, thus rendering intelligent human beings dumb themselves.

One of the dumbest ideas that has proliferated in the academic world is that warfare is a function of "male aggression." Just as many people voted for Donald Trump, so there are numerous people in the academic world--many of them otherwise intelligent--who have "voted" for this idea.

To dissuade oneself of this idea in an instant, all one has to do (if one has the nerve) is to witness the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan. 

The theory that warfare is caused by male aggression once angered me, but watching this scene now--witnessing the reality of warfare--brings tears to my eyes.

Of course, what remains is the task of explaining why intelligent human beings could understand warfare--a massive, institutional complex--as being fought as a function of the "aggressive drive" of individual soldiers.

Richard Koenigsberg