Happy Independence Day!

If you listen to some conservative talking airheads (like Sean Hannity), you get the impression that America is doomed if things don't turn around. His solution? We need to elect Republicans!

Republicans like, say, Lindsey Graham, who say the TEA Party movement is unsustainable? Graham, who has been an inconsistent Republican at best, as well as a frequent guest on Hannity's program?

Or would he prefer Republicans like John McCain, a man Hannity has praised as being a good man, but misguided?

Folks, Hannity misses the point on two fronts. First, voting in Republicans in and of itself won't fix the problems because many of the Republicans currently in office and in positions of power within the GOP are the ones who caused the problems in the first place. It would be like replacing a burnt out light bulb with another burnt out light bulb, thinking that the second one was bound to work.

Second, I don't believe for a second that this country is as bad off as we're being lead to believe it is. Don't get me wrong, things could certainly be better. But are we truly teetering on the brink of ruin unless we vote in Republicans in November? Heck no. This country has never been made great by the politicians running it at any given time. It has been made great by the people.

People like the Founding Fathers, who risked far more than we realize today to get this grand experiment in governance started.

People like the soldiers at Valley Forge, who survived brutal weather and low supply levels to stand tall against the most powerful military in the world at that time.

I could go on and on, but the point is that our history is rife with people who strove to make this country better. And that's the heart of patriotism in my book. It takes no courage to take a "my country, right or wrong" attitude. It takes a true love of this country to acknowledge we've made mistakes and to champion the fight to fix those mistakes.

This is where Leftists get it wrong. They criticize America not to try to make it better, but to tear it down to justify their contempt for the country. On the other hand, people like me criticize America to bring about the change necessary to make it a far better country. Put another way, Leftists are motivated by hatred for America, while people like me are motivated by love for America.

To hear Hannity talk about the possible end of America if Republicans aren't elected in 2010 makes me wonder about his love of country. No one man, not even someone as inept as Barack Obama, can take down America. We're far too strong, and he's far too incompetent. Instead of trumpeting the horns of doom, I prefer to trumpet America's success for well over 200 years as being a beacon of freedom for the world.

Happy Independence Day, folks!