George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 54

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In America, being a police officer is considered one of the most dangerous jobs.

If you’re pulled over by an officer in America, it’s best to immediately adopt a respectful and cooperative attitude, clearly stating your actions before you take them. Otherwise, the situation could escalate quickly.

When approaching a suspect in America, officers are trained to be prepared to draw their weapon and carefully observe every movement. This is a reflection of the dangers they face.

This is the reality of law enforcement in America.

“What seems to be the problem, officer?”

Brian vividly remembered his Uncle Brad’s advice. Brad, a former police officer, was a stereotypical cop straight out of a Hollywood movie – almost as if he were deliberately cast for the role.

He’d skip breakfast, grab donuts or hamburgers for lunch, and indulge in pizza for dinner; a confirmed bachelor. Thanks to these classic American eating habits, he sported a considerable belly, but it was packed with muscle, making him a formidable figure.

He’d once had his front teeth knocked out for being too cheeky, so his immense strength was undeniable.

Anyway, Brad had earnestly advised Brian at a barbecue party to give any officer who stopped him ‘complete trust’. This meant cooperating fully. At first, Brian listened attentively, but as Brad repeated the same advice every time he got drunk, Brian eventually tuned him out, thinking, ‘Oh, here we go again! He’s drunk and rambling.’

However, after years of listening to Brad’s drunken advice, one thing stuck with him, even if the details were hazy: if you’re stopped, whether you’re guilty or not, don’t put your hands in your pockets, the glove compartment, or anywhere else where something might be hidden.

Because how would the officer know if you’re reaching for a gun or your ID? So, in short, if you want to avoid getting shot, try to see things from the officer’s perspective.

Especially if you’re ‘black’.

“You were speeding.”

Speeding. In America, they usually don’t pull you over *just* for speeding. It’s hard to find a car that *isn’t* speeding on American roads. The speed limit varies, but most people drive 10 mph (16 km/h) over the limit without consequence. Of course, things change if you go 20 mph (32 km/h) over, but the point is, going a little over the limit is generally tolerated.

“Do you need my ID?”

So, today must be an unlucky day.

“Get out of the car.”

‘Oh, for fuck’s sake.’

Let me rephrase that. This officer is definitely a racist. Otherwise, he wouldn’t ask me to get out of the car instead of just giving me a ticket. The tactic is obvious: detain the compliant black man as long as possible, hoping he’ll eventually resist.

This was also Brad’s advice. But right now, Brian couldn’t afford to follow it. He had just received news that his wife had gone into labor. The anxiety of time slipping away was overwhelming.

Experiencing such a melodramatic event firsthand was surreal. I used to wonder why clichés kept repeating themselves, but now I understand – there’s a reason for clichés.

‘I wish he’d just let me go.’

Well, maybe it was a good thing that his wife wasn’t in the back seat right now. Otherwise, the officer might have been dead by now.

“My ID is in my back pocket, can I take it out?”

“Forget the ID. Open the trunk and show me what’s inside.”

‘There’s nothing illegal in there, so it should be okay, right?’

Even as he thought this, his patience was wearing thin. But if he lost his temper and got arrested, his wife might have to give birth alone. He might not meet his child until they were old enough to talk.

He endured, and endured, and endured.

They searched his body, searched his wallet, inspected the undercarriage of the car – inspected, inspected, inspected! After three hours, his patience finally snapped.

He wasn’t asking for much. He was simply asking to be released because his wife was giving birth alone. But despite his desperation, the officer ignored his pleas and the relentless investigation continued.

It wasn’t until two more hours had passed that Brian was finally released.

Racism by police officers remains a persistent problem in many parts of society—.

“Fantastic.”

Bush threw the newspaper onto his desk after reading it.

“Do you see this, Chief of Staff? This newspaper is a complete fabrication.”

“It’s always the same. It’s just that this time the outcry is a bit louder. Usually, it ends with a formal complaint. And it’s exaggerated. The officer’s actions wouldn’t have been that extreme in reality. Unless, for example, he had shown suspicious behavior.”

“I found out that a close friend of mine is a promising reporter in the editorial department of this newspaper. This position is truly invaluable. I can resolve most of my questions sitting right here in my office.”

Even if it lacked the immediacy of the internet, its accuracy was far superior. For example, if you were curious about the length of Route 66 and searched ‘US Route 66’ online, you’d have to sift through Wikipedia to find the answer.

In this position, you didn’t have to do that. One phone call and you could find out what someone was wearing.

As a simple example, the internet says Route 66 is 3,945 km long, but if Bush wanted, he could know the exact measurement down to the decimal places.

“Good. This will give the federal police more leverage. Include this story in the next speech. Emphasize the victim’s perspective as much as possible.”

“Are you planning to portray the state police as lazy freeloaders?”

“If necessary. The central farms are all guarded by PMCs [Private Military Companies] because there aren’t enough state police personnel. I can’t tolerate that any longer. I intend to reorganize the state police within my term.”

How could he speak so casually about such a monumental undertaking? The Chief of Staff sighed inwardly.

“I shouldn’t say this while holding this position, but I feel like I’m turning into a movie villain.”

To be precise, he should be called an executive of evil. The Chief of Staff himself was skeptical about dismantling the state police. However, he agreed with the underlying reasons. The corruption was too pervasive to be dismissed as isolated incidents.

Originally, medicine was poison if used excessively, but a cure if used appropriately. The same was true of policies. If pushed too aggressively, something was bound to go wrong. The problem was that the Chief of Staff was the one who had to minimize the damage, while Bush would face the brunt of the backlash.

The Chief of Staff’s nerves were usually on edge, but recently it felt like muscles were growing on them. Muscles were said to become stronger when they were properly torn and then allowed to heal. If nerves had a physical appearance, the Chief of Staff’s nerves would surely resemble those of a bodybuilder.

“Congratulations, you’ll probably be portrayed as the hidden power broker if this ever becomes a movie. I’ll be portrayed as a puppet president, easily swayed by you.”

“That’s not true. All I’ve done for you, Mr. President, is bring you documents.”

“You write my speeches, don’t you?”

‘Oh, wait a minute.’

“Are you serious? Really?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. More importantly, how are the talks with the Chinese progressing?”

Bush teased him, making him sulky, but the Chief of Staff decided to fulfill his duty, as he was at a loss for words.

“As expected, they seem to be trying to distance themselves as much as possible from the current regime and the Qing Dynasty [China’s last imperial dynasty, ruling from 1644 to 1912].”

‘I knew it. There’s no way things would go that smoothly.’

“Should we give them a second gift?”

He was referring to the full deployment of a carrier strike group. If he wanted, he could deploy four, or even five, in the vicinity of China’s coast.

Four carrier strike groups could completely devastate any country in the world, not just China, returning them to the Stone Age.

“Fortunately, that won’t be necessary. They seem to be gradually paying off the interest, even while denying it.”

“That’s a relief. But 1 billion dollars a year seems… underwhelming, doesn’t it?”

You couldn’t squeeze too much out of them at once. Now that they had acknowledged the existence of the ‘legitimate government succeeding the Qing Dynasty’ and the ‘Qing Dynasty bonds,’ it would be difficult to reverse the decision. Now all that was left was figuring out ‘How much to squeeze out at once?’ If they squeezed too much, China would complain that a great power was economically colonizing and oppressing a small country, and America’s international standing could be greatly damaged.

They were currently an upper-middle-income country, but also a major power thanks to their massive size. Even during the trade war with the United States in 2019, China had not yet reached the level of a high-income country, but it had shown enough potential.

However, if they economically restrained China from now on, preventing them from ever catching up with the United States, they could delay China’s growth by another 20 or 30 years.

‘Now that we’ve suppressed China, is Russia next?’

Unlike China, all of America’s leadership was focusing intently on Russia. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union, the predecessor of Russia, was a rival to the United States. As a result, all of America’s leaders were fully committed to preventing Russia from returning to the Soviet era, not dismissing it as an unrealistic fantasy.

For now, oil prices were stabilizing somehow, but it wasn’t the endless upward trend that Kim Gap-hwan remembered. Oil prices were slowly rising. Someday, this would reach its limit.

“I thought 2 years was an overreach. I really need to get it done in 2 years.”

‘If it really comes down to it, I’ll have to release even just a small portion of hydraulic fracturing [fracking; a controversial method of extracting oil and gas].’

It couldn’t be helped. If the United States itself collapsed while trying to protect the environment, it would all be for naught. Frankly speaking, the very act of people living was environmental pollution. Wasn’t there a trend in the animations I watched in my childhood that depicted people themselves as cancer cells on the Earth or something?

Bush didn’t agree with this, but,

“How is Taiwan doing?”

“Of course, they’re clamoring for a visit. Taiwan, like China, claims to be the ‘legitimate Chinese government.’ However, they are denying the bonds. Taiwan’s claim is based on Article 63 of the Relations between the People of Taiwan and the Mainland Area Act.”

Article 63 was a law that claimed that foreign currency bonds and short-term bonds issued in mainland China before 1949, and all debts and liabilities issued by government banks and private financial institutions, had nothing to do with Taiwan. It was like burying your head in the sand, but it was better than nothing.

However, now that the government of the People’s Republic of China was paying off the Qing Dynasty bonds, Taiwan’s claim to be the legitimate government was becoming difficult. Bush had a separate idea about this.

“Still, a visit is difficult. At least as long as China is paying interest.”

The Chief of Staff’s eyes widened as he heard those words.

“Why such a surprised expression?”

“I thought you would go there right away when you heard this news. So I had Air Force One on standby in advance….”

He was so surprised that he left out the embellishments and spoke frankly.

“Then give those guys a vacation. I don’t plan on riding it for a while.”

“What on earth are you plotting?”

“What do you take me for?”

“Well, that’s….”

‘A demon king?’

“Of course, you’re the President.”

‘Someone who moves around as he pleases, like a British Sten submachine gun dropped in a trench.’ He thought that, but swallowed the words back down.

“I’m worried about the rebellious aspects of everything you do, but I think you’re a respectable person.”

‘I think he’s someone who, when his memoirs are published in the future, it will be a relief if the reader doesn’t have a seizure.’

Bush ungratefully suspected the Chief of Staff’s loyalty for a moment, but soon shook off such useless delusions.

“Shall we stir up Europe next?”

Because Bush knew best that the Chief of Staff’s loyalty was very deep.

‘Oh, damn it.’

The loyal subject was cursing inwardly, though.