George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 365

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“They say it will take at least another year to create the Traffic Law Amendment. There are concerns that it is being pushed too hastily…”

“I’ll either visit them directly, or they can choose to create it within six months on their own.”

“The forceful and coercive push for the metric system is being opposed as unconstitutional.”

“Unconstitutional? What nonsense.”

“There have been general strikes led by several factories.”

“Ignore them.”

“There are also accusations of communism.”

“Disregard it.”

The reasons for the public’s opposition were compiled and presented, and Bush thoroughly crushed each one.

“So, to summarize, it’s all bullshit.”

“There are some legitimate reasons, such as the inconvenience to daily life and the enormous cost of this change.”

“These are problems that can be easily solved. In other words, there is no problem. America can’t always be the best, and since the government officially uses the metric system, there’s no reason why the private sector can’t.”

That’s right. They had already been steadily moving bit by bit for a while. There were dissenting lawmakers and those who spoke only in yards and pounds like stubborn scholars, but in the end, they were defeated. There was no particular reason. Congress had simply lost its power. Whether it was the separation of powers or anything else, no matter how much Bush forcibly divided power, it was still divided within the larger framework of Bush.

Of course, that’s not to say that Congress was a mere puppet, but it was certain that there was no mechanism to stop Bush once he decided to wield his iron fist. And this was exactly that situation.

“As I said before, being coercive and directly blunt doesn’t really seem like you, Mr. President.”

Bush reflexively suppressed the urge to reply, ‘What is like me then!’ and instead answered:

“The reason I’ve been pursuing appeasement is because there was a reason to do so, and now there’s a reason to pursue a hard-line policy. People are like bamboo; if they’re too rigid, they break. Sometimes, like reeds…”

“There’s another reason besides that, isn’t there?”

“Yes, let’s discard trivial reasons. Frankly, my successor will probably not have much power. I’m directly diminishing my own authority. I’m still like a massive rock blocking a large river, but whether a strong current passes or it’s artificially broken, it will somehow be dealt with.”

Frankly speaking, this was the main objective, and the secondary objective was the introduction of the metric system. In addition, the power of the Republican Party had to be reduced somewhat. As it was, the presidential election wouldn’t feel much like a presidential election. That would be problematic. After all, whoever sits in this position in the next election will be worse than Bush.

The reason is simple. It’s not that their abilities are lower than Bush’s. America will now have to deal with the aftermath of the things that have been set in motion, and just dealing with that will be overwhelming. If there are no new things to undertake, there will be no rise in authority. At best, the evaluation will be that of a president skilled in domestic affairs.

Of course, new things could be undertaken. But in all likelihood, even mighty America would falter a few times. It would only be like a champion boxer taking a few effective hits, but faltering is still faltering. Then, public sentiment would inevitably waver.

Consequently, the already slowly rising prices would skyrocket, and the regime would be torn apart like crazy. It would be a return to the past.

‘Ultimately, what I’m trying to do is shackle my successor.’

For the leader of a normal country, it would be an unthinkable and unacceptable act. But it had to be done. As it was, the country was on the verge of becoming a dictatorship, so he was trying to take out insurance to prevent that from happening.

If someone were to break even the insurance that Bush had put in place and create something solid of their own, that would already be something far beyond the realm of humanity. Then, one would have no choice but to accept the White Knight on a pale horse as fate.

‘Of course, that won’t happen.’

If such a person existed, there’s no way Bush wouldn’t know. At least, such a person did not exist in the future for decades to come. That was why Bush could rest assured. The reason Bush was able to do all this in the first place was that he roughly knew what was going on.

“That’s not to say we should half-ass the introduction of the metric system. I’m serious. I’m determined to drive out yards and pounds from this American continent.”

Originally, he had no intention of proceeding this quickly. Bush also thought that yards and pounds were not his task but a problem that time would solve. Therefore, he had originally tried to make government departments and laws somehow become familiar with the metric system.

From the start, this wasn’t very difficult. Even when the metric system became the international standard in the 20th century, the federal government and each state made painstaking efforts in various ways to introduce the metric system domestically. In addition, Bush had subtly done some behind-the-scenes work, so it would be a lie if today’s federal government wasn’t familiar with the metric system.

From the start, those who could rise to this level were considered elites among elites, so forcing the metric system on them wasn’t very difficult.

Whether it was in the intelligent sense of using it when converting yards and pounds to meters, or in the political sense of seemingly refusing to protect their own interests while accepting coercion.

So, in the end, the most important thing is to apply this to the private sector. Even now, both are being used together for decades, but the public never looks at the notations written in the metric system. It’s because it’s not intuitive and uncomfortable.

Well, that’s something that time can improve, but the bigger problem is the equipment and parts that are manufactured based on these inches and pounds. You might think, what’s so problematic about these? But these were the cause of NASA’s Mars exploration failure, that is, the reason why the public’s tax money was blown up in the sky.

‘More than anything, coaxing companies is coaxing, but in the end, we’re the ones giving them subsidies to replace them.’

This really needed time. At least five years. And even after those five years, once parts forced into the metric system start to be mixed with parts made in inches, society would turn into a mess. And that infamy would be taken by Bush and the government that pushed for it. That’s not to say that the next president could smooth it over. That’s not the case either.

Perhaps by then, they would have advanced too far to make it as if nothing had happened, and it would be more of a loss. It was the so-called sunk cost. Even if they made it as if nothing had happened, the result would be similar. Once they’ve caught the current, the metric system would become the trend unless the government colluded with companies and deliberately tried to stop it.

Then it’s over. The full-scale start began in 2008, but whether its end is grand or anticlimactic, it will eventually bear fruit in some way. As long as the roots are the same, the types of fruit are the same. Well, the sweetness or appearance may be a bit different, but the ingredients are similar.

“It might be difficult to crack down on companies. But so what? If necessary, feed them money to make them move. If not, grab their weaknesses and shake them. We have scandals of politicians and even businessmen, don’t we?”

This was all due to the seriously overgrown intelligence agencies, the CIA and FBI. And the judiciary, as well as Congress, was half-eaten away, and the other half was holding onto something to avoid being swept away by the strong current called the president, remaining passive. The federal police and local police were all under control, and military authority was originally the power of the president.

This was the power that George W. Bush possessed. He had been deliberately not wielding it properly, but the power that Bush possessed was this immense and powerful.

Bush was thrilled by the power he possessed. He even felt younger with each order he gave. Power was a drug in itself.

‘That’s right. It’s a drug.’

No more, no less, power was a drug. Drugs can give you immediate pleasure, but in the end, they ruin your body. Is there any other reason why drugs are described as the downhill path of life? However, there are those who use drugs for purposes other than pleasure. They are artists. They can use a little bit of drugs to create a more profound worldview and sensibility.

Power is the same. The longer you hold onto it, the more it ruins your body. The more you do, the more it ruins your mind, and in the end, you will be forcibly dragged down from the ultimate utopia.

“Thoroughly destroy anything that interferes with the introduction of the metric system. I’ll admit it, even if it’s a bit excessive this time.”

“But wouldn’t that undermine the main objective?”

The chief of staff’s words meant, in short, ‘If you destroy even those who resist like this, wouldn’t the president’s power become even stronger then?’ It wasn’t entirely wrong. Bush had also considered that, but in the end, Bush thought that they were not people who would easily give in.

‘After all, those who are trying to resist will be businessmen, and those businessmen will do anything to protect their interests. Most of them can even risk their lives. That’s why some people commit suicide in utter despair when their business fails, but that’s not important right now…’

Then it’s simple. They will bend now, but in the next administration, businessmen will constantly peck at the government. They will do anything, lobbying or whatever. The country is weakest during a change of power, and the president is weakest at the same time. The successor would have to spew out the powerful authority they have.

And that successor would be busy trying to consolidate even the remaining power they have, whether it’s the introduction of the metric system or trying to fix even a little bit of the mess that Bush has been working on. Like Bush in the early days, they would truly become a machine that only works.

“That won’t happen.”

“Then I will proceed knowing that.”

Bush stared at the back of the chief of staff as he left the office to carry out the orders he had given.

In fact, there was one more main objective that he didn’t tell the chief of staff. No, it was included in the main objective from the start, but anyway, the most important thing was to let the public know about the president’s powerful authority, which had been half-forcibly hidden.

Anyone living in this era knows that the power that George W. Bush possesses is unusual. Even when he was cracking down on the media. The Constitution is not just the Constitution, but the Amendments, etc. He brought up obsessively collected evidence and pushed like crazy, but even then, the public didn’t really have much awareness.

First of all, what happens to others is not their own business, and since the perception that ‘fake news is bad, that is, the media that produces it is bad’ was ingrained, once the framework of rewarding good and punishing evil was established, they were relieved whether the media was suppressed or not.

This time, due to the full-scale introduction of the metric system, the public would have complaints, and soon, when they realize that their appeals are of no use, they would have a serious sense of alarm.

And that was what Bush truly wanted.