Academic and Non-Academic Pursuits

My youngest, Victoria, dropped in for a few days. She had finished her thesis for an MA in History at Stanford, and wanted me to review it. No problem, and I was glad to see her still in one piece. You may recall that Victoria has a somewhat bizarre sideline, where she has perfected acting as a dead body for various American television shows. I thought this ridiculous, but could not deny that she received a good buck for being sliced, diced and mangled in all manner of ways.

I reviewed her work, and was impressed. She had argued well that while religion was at the basis of the Thirty Years War, the economics of the situation were far more important. Put differently, the religious issues (Catholic v. Protestant) were for public consumption; the real issues were decided by bankers, traders and merchants. Not unlike things today.

I did have one big quibble, and put to her the fact that she didn't give enough stress on the importance of the early Battle of the White Mountain (1620) and the brilliance of the Catholic commander, Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly. He was, I argued, streets ahead of his opposite number, Christian of Anhalt.

"Tilly was an outright bastard," Victoria said.

"Inglorious, you mean. Well so were they all. And Anhalt had the high ground on the mountain. No way he should have been defeated. He just didn't see the importance of the bridge. Tilly did. And why that battle was so important is that it led to three centuries of rule over Bohemia by the Hapsburg's. That should surface somewhere in your writing. And one other thing."

Victoria groaned.

"You miss one of the key outcomes of the 1648 Peace of Westphalia."

"And just what was that?"

"Now Vicky, no need to be snappish. What I am getting at is that at Westphalia, the principle of non-interference in a state's internal affairs surfaced for the first time. In fact, if you wanted to be really bold, you could draw a direct line from Westphalia to that ghastly mess in Rwanda. But better not. This would lead to a feeling of guilt on the part of your examiners, and this would not be to your benefit. But the principle could be highlighted."

Victoria was silent for a time, but then, in a complete non-sequitor, said, "I'm thinking of moving back up here."

"Wonderful! What brings this on? I thought your proximity to your little parts in film and television were of importance, and a lot of the work is in LA. "

"Oh, I'd fly down for that. In fact, I've got some more work in 'True Blood', and -- funny you mentioned inglorious bastards, or rather 'ingloreous basterds' -- I've been approached by some of Quentin Tarantino's people. They were impressed with the scene where the vampires --"

"I don't want to know. And as for Tarantino, he'll probably have you thrown into a threshing machine."

"How did you know?"

I looked at her, shocked.

"Oh, Mum, just kidding. But he is brilliant. Anyway, things are just getting too hairy in the States. You can just feel the hate, Republicans against Democrats. And every one's armed to the teeth. I just don't want to be there when things explode. "

"Vicky, you've forgotten your Churchill. As he put it, 'America usually gets it right, after she's exhausted all the alternatives.'"

"Maybe. But I'm still coming. And you've forgotten your friend Bill Maher, and his statement, 'Democrats have moved to the right, and Republicans have moved into a mental institution.'"

"Vicky?"

"Yes?"

"Good to have you back."