On the day of his second inauguration and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President Barack Obama proclaimed Monday the “National Day of Hope and Resolve, 2013.”
“Four years ago, the American people came together to chart a new course through an uncertain hour,” the proclamation read. “We chose hope over fear and hard work during hardship, confident that the age-old values that had guided our Nation through even its darkest days would be sufficient to meet the trials of our time.”
In briefly listing the accomplishments the country has had over his past four years, in the proclamation, Obama cited ending the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, saving the economy and the fight for “equality.”
“Millions of men, women, and children have made service their mission, reaffirming that America’s greatest strength lies not in might or wealth, but in the bonds we share with one another,” Obama’s proclamation read.
Obama harkened back to his inaugural address and reiterated that the oath he took Monday “are the words of America’s citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.”
He added that the country must “resolve to meet the challenges of our age together” and called “upon Americans to join together in courage, in compassion, and in purpose to more fully realize the eternal promises of our founding and the more perfect Union that must remain ever within our reach.”
Obama signed the proclamation shortly after his inauguration speech.
In 2009, Obama declared a “National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation, 2009” on his first Inauguration Day.