But as we’ve gotten closer to July 4 and the cause of all this hoopla and fanfare, I’ve wondered how well we even know this milestone.

So let me ask you this: Have you read the document that was signed almost exactly 250 years ago, the Declaration of Independence?

If not, I suggest you do so.

Like many, I’m certainly familiar with some of its more famous passages, like “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another …” and “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

But I’ll also admit that it had been too long since I actually read the entire declaration, complete with its lengthy list of grievances toward the British government and specifically King George III.

It’s not a long document, only comprised of just over 1,300 words. Frequently articles in this newspaper are longer than that.

And as I read through it again, a few things caught my attention.

Other than the establishing words (In Congress, July 4, 1776), the second word is one that we don’t hear very often in politics: unanimous.

We know from history that in one sense calling the vote “unanimous” was an overstatement. There had been members of Congress who had vehemently opposed the declaration but were outvoted by others in their colonial delegations. New York also officially abstained from voting on the resolution on independence that the document was representing.

But in a greater sense, it is astonishing that enough representative from those 12 very different colonies debated, discussed and compromised to the point that they all voted in favor of it.

It was an act that definitely carried tremendous personal risk and many ended up sacrificing everything for what the final line described by saying “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

I also thought a lot about the lengthy sentence that came before that one, which says: “We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.”

Those 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence weren’t creating a new nation at that moment as much as they were separating from the old one.

Even if the declaration and ensuing battle efforts resulted in Americans being freed from the rule of England, they didn’t know what it would become. They didn’t even know if it would survive or if it would be re-absorbed by some other international power.

But it was the best they could do at that point.

As we look back know through the lens of history, we see the odds Americans of that time faced and overcame. We learn about the elements of government, liberty, law and conflict that forged and continues to forge the United States.

The country of ours — just like all countries — has always reflected both the brilliance and the flaws inherent in the individuals who make up the populace. It has always had problems and virtually every time it tries to address one issue, the “solutions” have created other challenges.

But even though it has elected multiple military figures to positions of power, it has never had a military-installed leader.

It had a terrible civil war, but somehow managed to emerge without the outcome resulting in more open fighting as usually has happened in history.

It has managed to evolve its understanding of personhood and individual rights while still upholding the rule of law and ideals of liberty.

In my limited study of history, few nations in the world can legitimately make those claims.

And we, the people of the United States, deserve to both be proud of that and feel the weight of the responsibility of it.

Because it is on us at this moment to carry on that legacy.

As I think of what America is right now, I don’t think its fundamental character is revealed by waving flags or singing the national anthem.

That character is in whether we can truly honor those individuals from 250 years ago who risked so much to gather together, overcome their differences and work to make their world better.

I think that doing that — individually and collectively — would be the best way to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the symbolic moment when the people of our country chose to step out on their own.

Happy Birthday, America.

Jared Lloyd is the managing editor of the Daily Herald and can be reached at jlloyd@heraldextra.com.