I believe that the Nintendo Wii is the key to world peace. Here’s why:

1. You can play a Wii almost instantly upon connecting it to your TV. No pretenses, no posturing or positioning; just plug in the thing, put the sports game in and play.

2. Wii sports remind you about the things that make good sportsmanship fun. You know – playing nice? Playing nice, as it turns out, is good. Who knew? Maybe we should teach a few people.

3. It’s just damn good clean fun. A ten year-old, a 20 year old, a 25 year old (me) and a 43 year old can gather in the living room for a nice game of Wii whatever and everyone enjoys themselves. It also turns out that after having fun for a couple of hours you can’t be pissed off at the other people in the room. Perhaps that would enable some constructive conversation if, say, the leaders of Iran, Iraq, Israel, the U.S. (but I think maybe Barack would pwn at Wii – just sayin’), Russia and China gathered for some Super Smash Brothers Brawl and vented all their frustration. If all else fails, give them the carnival games. Trust me. It is worth a try.

In brief: The Nintendo Wii could be the solution to world peace because you cannot play Wii and still be a prick. Tell it to the U.N.