GW, Dieu (dans l’ordre) et l’Irak comme “virgule” de l’Histoire

Quelques blogers-commentateurs se sont attachés au dernier discours de GW pour y découvrir ce qui serait une allusion à peine déguisée — mais limpide pour ses électeurs chrétiens fondamentalistes — à l’appréciation divine actuelle de la catastrophe irakienne. Le conseil implicite du Seigneur à GW serait, dans ce cas, de ne pas trop prêter attention à la susdite catastrophe qui ne serait qu’une “virgule” (“comma”) de l’Histoire.

On trouve ce débat sur le blog de The American Prospect, de la part de Greg Sargent.

«President Bush's speech yesterday got tons of attention for its attack on Dems, but there was another key moment that's passed unnoticed. Bush again used the phrase “just a comma” to describe the Iraq war. From the speech:

»“We're going to help the Iraqi people. Remember, 12 million of them voted in elections last December. That probably seems like a decade ago to you, but when the history is finally written, it will be just a comma. Twelve million people stood up in the face of assassins and car bombers and said, we want to be free.”

»Bush's repetition of the phrase suggests that it is a calculated one, and we may be hearing it again and again between now and November. But what does it mean? As this blog noted the other day, Greg Mitchell of Editor and Publisher did some digging and found that Bush was likely alluding to comedienne Gracie Allen's famous quip, “never place a period where God has placed a comma.” Why would Bush quote this line from a comedienne? Because the phrase has become a widely quoted part of current Christian teaching.

»As best as I can determine from reading a bunch of religious web sites, the phrase “never place a period where God has placed a comma” appears to mean that God is in control, that even if humans want to control events, or say something conclusive about them, or have the last word about them, it won't matter, because God is “still speaking.” The phrase “God is still speaking” turns up again and again next to the “comma” line on religious web sites. In essence, then, the remark appears to mean that God will have the last word. Here's how Rev. Allen Heckman of St. John's United Church of Christ describes the meaning of the phrase:

»Problem with our periods, though, is they don't stop God. Those periods only stop the ones who put the period where God has a comma. You see, God is not ready to stop moving. He won't use a period until the end of time. He is still moving.

I'm the first to admit that I'm woefully out of my depth on this stuff. So I'd love to hear from any readers who have a better idea of what this means. But it seems clear that Bush is using coded language to reassure his evangelical base. Or if not, he at least seems to be saying that we shouldn't put a period on our Iraq adventure because God has put a comma on it — God is “still speaking” about it. We shouldn't worry about the catastrophe in Iraq because God hasn't yet told us what's going to happen. God will sort it out.»

(Suivent d’autres notes et commentaires, sur le même blog, qui nous montrent la passion que suscite cette question.)

Admettons. Puisqu’il semble, selon cette version, que l’Irak n’est même pas un point (period) mais tout juste une virgule (comma) de l’Histoire, on comprend la sérénité de GW.

Au-delà de la métaphore et de la symbolique, et de la chronique des fréquentations du Président, ce débat n’est d’ailleurs pas indifférent ni sans intérêt. Nous devrions assez vite mesurer la réelle importance historique de l’Irak et, effectivement, la ponctuation qu’il importe de lui appliquer. Ce conflit présente la particularité d’une importance assez minime au regard des forces engagées, des pertes causées, de l’espace impliqué, par rapport à bien d’autres cas de conflits. Mais quant à l’importance du cas au niveau des consciences et des psychologies, le champ de la spéculation est largement ouvert, avec ou sans l’aide de Dieu. Au-delà du débat entre le point et la virgule, il existe même la possibilité fameuse du “point final”.

Mis en ligne le 1er octobre 2006 à 10H34