Drama, violence and conflict make great news stories, so that's what we are all getting from almost all the media today. How can anyone know what's really going on when we are supplied a steady diet of this kind of news?
Sensationalism works on people who are otherwise uninformed. We all need to study history. Read biographies of the founding fathers and U.S. presidents. Study the causes and impacts of the Civil War.
Know the constitution. When you hear the word "unconstitutional" applied to a situation in the news, consider; is it really? The constitution is a body of law that is a recipe to handle domestic and political conflicts. It is working. But if it is not working for you. There is a way to amend it and that has been done a number of times.
As a student of history I see many young adults, and middle aged and older people, too, who are uninformed in the basics of our government. This is sad because you can more easily be led by extremists and politicians with impure motives.
If you would like to get caught up on history, then do it!
