US Secretary of State Rice was in Bethlehem yesterday and visited the Church of the Annunciation. Her decision to visit, say a prayer, and light a candle in the grotto where nativity stories claim Jesus was born, is a far cry from the rash and incoherent use of military power that has been the defining criterion of the administration she serves. I’m not saying it is more coherent or less hypocritical. A candle indeed, that is what will bring peace to the region. Roman emperors of the 4th c. CE found it necessary and convenient to discover or invent proper relics for their own political purposes: the cross, the Golgotha, the “grotto” where the nativity would have taken place, and many other “holy” places. Modern political leaders continue the tradition of hoping that the touching of relics will help the masses believe they have a good hold on reality.