Hi Valoree. Looking at your post, I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you're still quite young and haven't been out of school / college very long. So the recent e******n tweaked your interest in all things political and you're here to get your ass handed to you feet wet. In many ways, you came to the right place. As you'll learn pretty quickly, we have some very patient, logical people on here who will bend over backwards to help you understand the intricacies of political discourse. Then there are the others who couldn't care less about ideas and logical reasoning, and go straight for the ideology like a religious dogma. I have no doubt you'll see the difference in no time.

So, just getting your political feet wet. That can be a tough one. Politics isn't designed to be understandable or logical so I recommend you approach everything political with a very skeptical eye. I suppose the first thing to do is to find out where you are on the political spectrum. This (very) short quiz will help give you an idea as to where you stand and who your friends are:

https://www.nolanchart.com/survey-php

Just answer the questions honestly and it will point you to your comfort zone. Just so you know, my result is straight up libertarian. I was very surprised when I found that out.

Also, if you like videos, this is a good explanation of the origins and history of the American form of government:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGL8CiUtXF0

I especially like the way it turns this whole 'left / right' paradigm on its head and points out that government power is a true measure of political ideology. Let me know where the quiz places you on the political spectrum and I may know a few resources that will help you 'see the light' so to speak.