NEW AMERICA 2021

America enters a new era with Joe Bidden Jr. as President and the first woman, black and South Asian Kamala Harris as Vice President. Trump refused to concede the election and almost half of America still believe him. The country is divided along party interests. I was in France when Capitol Hill was under attack by thousands of pro Trump protestors on January 6. It became the headline news for European channels for several days. Pope Francis said that the attack on Capitol Hill was just shocking, an act that attacks America’s very own core of democracy. This action also explains how democracy is also very fragile.

Then Twitter blocked President Trump’s account, a decision that many people wished Twitter had done long ago, not to give him a mega microphone that he used to insult journalists and those who spoke up against him during his four years of presidency. The unlikely decision, Twitter executives with other internet giants like Facebook and Amazon together decided they will all block him. Soon a dozen others followed.

A week after the Capitol Hill attack, Trump issued a video from the official white house Twitter account that he was in shock of what was happening and that there will be peaceful transition. It was too late. The house proceeded with the second impeachment one week before Trump left the White House with eight votes from the Republican Party. The U.S Senate postponed the impeachment trial in the Senate until after Bidden’s inauguration. Now it has been more than three weeks, America still waits for the stimulus bill that has been stalled since November. Bidden signed the executive order for a 1.9 trillion dollar package bill, the house voted on Friday with no Republican support.

The Senate trial for Trump’s impeachment will take place next week, as the Bidden administration is busy with vaccine rollout and the stimulus package. Meanwhile, the GOP leadership tried to punish the 3rd ranking Republic Party Congresswoman Liz Cheney because she denounced Trump for the Capitol Hill insurrection. She survived the vote.

A few Bidden executive orders on his first days in the office will change America for the next several decades to come. In 2017, under the Trump administration, the U.S. exited the Paris Climate Change Agreement — a consensus of world leaders from 196 countries came together and signed to adopt new environment strategy toward net-zero greenhouse emission by 2050, which America entered during the Obama administration. Bidden has re-entered the agreement on day one. Bidden also revoked Keystone XL Company permits from drilling oil on federal reserve lands; however, the company boast it has enough permits for the next five years having obtained them from the Trump administration. As for the rest of the oil, they have a contract with Canada already underway that the company would have no problem with the oil delivery demand. However, President Bidden also cancelled the cross-border permit of TC Energy —a project that went for four years under the Trump era. Now Canada wants its pay, under the fair trade rule, Keystone’s fate may be crumbling as Bidden takes America toward a new height of renewable energy.

The efforts to make America green, net-zero greenhouse emission by 2050 by joining the world stage is a very bold and applaudable action by the Bidden administration and will take America to unprecedented levels during this unprecedented time. A new era has begun and so a new legacy in so many ways.

During the pandemic, more than 400,000 Americans died in 11 months and 27 million Americans were infected; we now see the spike doing down for the first time. Infectious disease expert Dr. Fauci is also happier at his job, giving an interview that based on science. We now have daily press briefing from the White House, doing the normal work that Americans expect their leaders to do. During President Trump’s era, the press secretary was often fired and had to deny all facts President Trump didn’t want them to speak, that everything was okay while thousands of people died every day. It was not okay, and still isn’t. How America comes out of this pandemic is important to show the world its strength and resiliency. These are the steps President Bidden took during his first three weeks in the White House.

The green new deal will create new jobs, while encouraging people to be innovative, using modern technology to create solutions to our modern climate crisis. The government announced it will purchase electric cars from any company who are able to make them, solar stock markets surged in January, General Motor Company and Ford came forward to take up the task. GM announced it will make all electric cars by 2035. This time reminds us of the 1930’s during the Great Depression, when President Teddy Roosevelt created a New Deal, build new airports, bridges and highways, put people to work and revived the American economy. President Bidden’s bold fight for climate change, to have completely renewable energy in every American home by 2050 is a revolutionary step toward building a self-sustaining economy by using new technology.

The Bidden administration also plans to reopen schools and put people back to work. Many Americans have been out of work since the pandemic began, others work from home for 11 months. Many women are out of work due to the lack of childcare. Unemployment rate as of January 2021 is 6.3%, doubled from January 2020 before the pandemic. Bidden plans to complete 1 million vaccinations per day during his first 100 days. So far, half a million doses a day got to people’s arm as of Sunday February 7. President Biden’s goal is attainable according medical experts as the infrastructure is being put in place to deliver them.