Holy wall of .txt! This is *extremely* partial but might as well get this going. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the starting point is
>! ...starthere.txt (shocking, I know)

So, let's try to solve the clues:
>! 0) A surficial excuse for discrimination (4) -> **race**?  
>! 1) When I .... about politics you always seem to .... (4/4)  
>! 2) Italy relative to Switzerland (2) -> **se** (southeast)?  
>! 2) Way to get loved for quite some time, time, time (4) -> **stay** (according to Taylor Swift)  
>! 3) A letter, best fitting Poseidon (3) -> **psi**, which looks like a trident  
>! 3) Vatican relative to Italy (2) -> **in**?  
>!  
>! The crossword seems to be the one in the centre of the image (the 4x4 with numbers 0-3).