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?