Our Founders ratified the Declaration of Independence on the 4th of July and John Hancock affixed his famous signature to the document that day. The other delegates would sign Declaration on August 2. John Adams and others recognized the importance of July 4th and suggested that it be perennially marked by celebration, fireworks and gratitude to the Almighty for the birth of a new land of liberty.

July 5th dawned as another muggy, oppressive summer day in Philadelphia. Imagine a non-air-conditioned room full if men who bathed weekly and wore layers of wool clothing! The Continental Congress had much to do beyond ratifying a Declaration. There was an army to feed and supply, a new Republic to govern and the real fear of losing everything if they failed.

Why is July 5th important? it is important because our Founders kept on working at the tasks at hand. Securing a new nation meant daily toil, not just high moments of public proclamation.

Why is July 5th important today? Today there are millions of Americans who are faithful to their families, work hard, serve the community, worship God and carry on the tasks that make this the greatest nation on earth. July 4th is great – fireworks and fun, beaches and barbecues – but July 5th may be more important, for it is the ordinary responsible activities of all our citizens that make us great!

Let’s celebrate July 5th by being heroes to our kids and making history by our fidelity to the virtues that are the cornerstone of liberty.

Yesterday, June 28, we witnessed a three-fold moment of sanity in the sociopolitical world. Such a “trifecta” is rare and we ought to take a moment to indulge in some good feelings before our battles begin again.

President Bush’s immigration legislation was dealt another defeat. Good riddance to the cheap-jobs-for-Republicans-and-cheap-votes-for-Democrats agenda – at least for awhile.

The “Fairness Doctrine” – a thinly veiled attempt of the Left to control the radio waves because they can not compete with conservative talk – was soundly rejected by the House.

And finally, the United Church of Christ, a mainline Protestant denomination, admitted that its policy statements concerning the Middle East were unfairly biased against Israel. A committee agreed that the Arabs share some of the blame for their problems and most of the violence is not the fault of the Israelis.

It is rare to hear see so much sanity in one day…let’s enjoy it as we celebrate America’s heritage and hope this week.

This morning I had the honor of appearing on the KSFO AM 560 morning show, hosted by Leigh Rodgers and Melanie Morgan, with Officer Vic providing color, traffic and musical whimsy. Brian Sussman, who hosts his own show on KSFO from 6-8 PM nightly, was the guest host with Melanie and Vic. The topic was the current immigration crisis. A scheduled guest could not appear, so “Dr. History” spontaneously pinch-hit and provided historical perspective of the impact of immigration upon cultures throughout history.

America, by definition, is a land of immigrants. We have an uneven record toward welcoming certain groups at certain times, but overall, we have been, and remain, the first destination for those who want freedom and opportunity. Our sheer size, diversity of cultures, economic opportunities and the values that uphold our land draw people here by the millions.

In 1620 the Pilgrims landed, determined to practice their faith and live at peace with all – they did, for nearly 70 years.

Roger Williams established Rhode Island as a beacon of religious freedom.

In the 1650s, Maryland (“Mary-Land”) was founded as a haven for English Catholics, with Lord Baltimore leading the exodus to freedom.

When our Founders wrote the Constitution, they expressly forbade any religious test for political office and forever enshrined the freedom of conscience and religion – the true “First Freedom” – in the first 16 words of the First Amendment.

Bigotry, racism and xenophobia are, alas, conditions of human societies everywhere and American history is no exception. Our Native American policies are a study in moral turpitude and self-deception. The War with Mexico was a pretence for conquest. In the 1850s there were anti-Catholic riots in Baltimore! The legacy of slavery and Jim Crow is still being overcome. The anti-Chinese and anti-Japanese laws of the 19th and 20th centuries are a stain on our history. The isolationism of the 1920s to 1940s kept thousands, perhaps millions, of Jews and other victims of totalitarianism out of our great land.

The previous paragraph reminds me of my history classes in Berkeley and Santa Cruz: America the colonial oppressor…America the racist…America – you get the idea. There were times I felt persecuted for walking in the room – after all, I am a white male, married and middle-class, so I am part of the problem and should apologize for living.

But there are other narrative threads that must be woven into our historical tapestry. Our Revolution was NOT like the one that came later in France! President George Washington spoke at a synagogue – and welcomed people of all faiths or none to be part of the virtuous citizenry our our new land. The Irish who felt persecuted in the 1850s became part of the elite by the dawn of the 20th century. The Asian laborers who built our railroads are now watching their descendants enjoy the American Dream. The African-American and Hispanic-American middle classes are growing and Martin Luther King’s efforts are paying rich dividends for many.

Welcome to America – the greatest ongoing experiment in freedom in history.

Welcome to America – we need many “Ellis Islands” to welcome legal immigrants who want to become citizens and uphold our principles and virtues.

Welcome to America – if you are a visitor, we need to know where you are and if your intentions are good.

Welcome to America – a lighthouse to a world that is learning English.

Welcome to America – a land that must not “submit” to any theocracy, especially one designed to destroy our freedoms. People of all faiths or none live with their deepest differences in this nation. Yes, we can persuade and ask people to covert, but coercion and oppression of the conscience have no place in America.

Welcome to America – flawed, but struggling forward; naive at times, but anxious to receive all who embrace liberty and liberty’s foundations of faith and virtue.

Welcome to America – and land that does not need to follow in the self-destructive footsteps of Western Europe and wallow in a post-religious vacuum of bureaucracy.

Welcome to America – if you can handle the responsibility that comes with freedom.

We are watching the implosion of our civilization one “reality” show at a time.

While neo-pagans try to regulate the environment to the detriment of average workers and Muslim extremists plan their denoument of Europe, Israel and the USA, we worry about Anna Nicole Smith and fools like Don Imus.

England is limiting references to the Holocaust so that Islamic leaders are not “offended.” Now we change history to suit religious tastes?

Freedom for any nation rests upon virtue founded upon lasting moral principles. Personal responsibility for the general good is the basis for less governmental interference in our lives.

As the moral foundations of the West crumble, the void created by the dearth of ethical and spiritual vitality will be filled by elites ready to ‘guide” the masses to their vision of the better world.

Right now there are two totalitarian rivals for the loyalty of the mindless: Radical Islam and Environmentalism. I am not speaking of most muslims nor am I against significant improvements in environmental policy for our better future. But the radicals in Islam and groups like Earth First! have clear ideas of what the world should look like and believe that those unwilling to go along need to be removed. The leaders of these movements know that it does not take a majority to overthrow governments, just a dedicated vanguard ready to employ any means to achieve their anarchic-apocalytic or oppressive-paternalistic ends.

If the West does not experience real moral and spiritual change, Islam will achieve in 2032 what it could not achieve in 732 – domination of much of Europe.

If America does not awaken morally and develop balanced social policies, intellectual elites will fill the void with controls over speech, thought, and economic freedom.

If all this sounds far-fetched, remember that the French Revolutionaries – without the buffer of strong religious pluralism – watched their dream cut off by the guillotine and Napoleon. Germany’s bohemian excesses and spiritual vacuum were fertile soil for the Nazis – who never won a majority in any regular election!

The void of Vietnam allowed the Democratic Party to be hijacked by radicals in 1972 and it has been hard to find too many moderates in that Party since then, especially on family issues.

We have a choice – self-control through adherence to principles or control by elites consumed by their own arrogance and perverted utopianism. If radical Islam “wins”, women are uneducated and clothers in burkhas. If Earth First! wins, only select folks may reproduce and a decline in population is welcome to heal Mother Earth.

We do have a choice – but will we get off our couches and away from our computers long enough to exercise our moral muscles again?