There will bemore than the usual July Fourth parades and fireworks to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. But if you really want to honor the democracy that the American Revolution ushered in, read the news.

Getting informed and engaged are meaningful ways to connect with some of our founding ideals: the importance of a free press, and a public empowered by information and capable of self-government. On this historic birthday, we can recommit to these American principles through news literacy: the ability to identify credible information and recognize fact-based journalism. 

The term “news literacy” is nowhere in the founding documents. Yet, it’s embedded in our origin story through the founders’ commitment to the free exchange of ideas and civic engagement, both of which are necessary for good government.

The Revolutionary War was not only fought on battlefields, but also through the information and competing views circulated and debated in pamphlets, newspapers and town squares.

“A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both,” wrote James Madison, a chief architect of the First Amendment.

Madison added that “a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”

Information remains the lifeblood of democracy. When people have access to credible information, they get involved in their communities. Research shows that voter turnout is higher in areas with local news, and more people volunteer and run for office as well…