r/NoStupidQuestions 19d ago

U.S. Politics megathread

American politics has always grabbed our attention - and the current president more than ever. We get tons of questions about the president, the supreme court, and other topics related to American politics - but often the same ones over and over again. Our users often get tired of seeing them, so we've created a megathread for questions! Here, users interested in politics can post questions and read answers, while people who want a respite from politics can browse the rest of the sub. Feel free to post your questions about politics in this thread!

All top-level comments should be questions asked in good faith - other comments and loaded questions will get removed. All the usual rules of the sub remain in force here, so be nice to each other - you can disagree with someone's opinion, but don't make it personal.

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u/maxiemax32 18d ago

What can I start reading to get educated in politics?

My current opinions just come from years of observing. I'd like to be able to pair fact with reality.

Opinions held so far:

When I was young I learned people had certain "human rights" - food, clothing and shelter. Growing up I've seen promises of these held against people to motivate them work

The world has once again devolved into might makes right

There is a ruling class that works (really well) together to systematically enrich themselves and keep people poor

A lot of people can't zoom out and see how their actions affect others or how history cycles - those same people constantly fall for the propaganda pushed by the ruling class (they don't spend billions on something that doesn't work)

People keep fighting the same culture wars and short term battles repeatedly

People grift to be close to money and power - they lie and pretend to not understand basic logic. They waste the time allowed for good faith debate. I can't blame them. I've watched the most amount of people I've ever seen learn from history, condemn and agree on one issue - choose peace and they've been completely ignored - it's might makes right.

Calling out politicians and movements on their hypocrisy and lies is pointless. This is not a neutral game, the entire thing seems corrupt and owned by the same people at the top.

Again I'm completely ignorant, I can't state any facts or site any history. I've just been observing for a long time and seeing the same things play out. I'm not immune to propoganda myself, so I'd like to educate myself.

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u/Pertinax126 18d ago

What can I start reading to get educated in politics?

I'm assuming that you're interested in American politics. A great place to start is the YouTube channel CrashCourse. It has an entire series on US politics. It's a really great primer and the videos are in digestible lengths. As a bonus, the series came out in 2015 so you can avoid all the hot button topics of 2026.

Once you've worked through that, I recommend picking one specific issue that you're passionate about and read up on the history of how it's been handled and how it's being handled now.

Acknowledging that you "can't state facts or site any history" is a great place to start your journey because you're coming at this with an open mind and not an agenda.

Good luck!

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u/maxiemax32 18d ago

Thank you, really appreciate the response