A New Day For America

Barack Obama
2 min readJan 21, 2021
Photo by Adam Schultz

In his inaugural address, President Biden said this is a time for boldness, for there is so much to do. He’s right. And while the work is just beginning, it really does feel like a new day for America — not only because of the President’s words but because of his actions.

Today, thanks to executive orders and other directives signed by the President hours after taking office, we are closer to ending this pandemic and better prepared for the next one. Fewer Americans will be evicted from their homes or fall behind on their student loan payments. Dreamers won’t have to live in fear of being deported from the country they call home. The so-called Muslim ban is no longer the law of the land. And by rejoining the Paris climate accords, the United States will once again lead the fight against climate change.

If there’s one thing we know after the last four years, it’s that America’s example matters — especially if we hope to heal our planet.

Our leadership made the Paris Agreement possible, and our ambition encouraged dozens of other nations to set their sights higher. By recommitting ourselves to a low-carbon future, we will serve as an example once again — continuing to reap the benefits of new jobs and industries, and protecting the world we leave to our children.

President Biden will be the first to tell you that rejoining the Paris Agreement is not enough, just as all the other executive actions he took yesterday are not enough. But they are important, necessary steps as we set our sights once again on becoming the America we know we can be. I look forward to watching the administration build on this progress in the days ahead.

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