Your experience is not unique, trust me. What I often see in my classes is kind of an underlying unthinking stereotyping of conservative views. This comes from the ideas promoted by (often equally gullible) secondary teachers who teach the party line because that is what they know. Some of it is pretty raw and a lot of it is as filled with hate towards America as the gentlemen who wrote the thing on King Kong.
In my experience, the majority of parents do not really have much influence on what their kids think. This allows the liberal clique to do things.
Most kids I have taught over the last three decades have great instincts but have never been encouraged to focus on what they believe and why they believe it.
One last story which I hope this list picks up on. Once upon a time I was mistakenly invited to a Marxist conference in Montana (paid for by Montana taxpayers, by the way.) But I went, because, well, it promised to be too much fun to miss. On the second day of the conference, they bussed in a number of high school teachers from central Montana. The speaker that day, one of the best known liberal arts professors in the country, opened his talk with the words: "isn't it great we don't have to talk about Robert E. Lee anymore?"
So that is where we are.
McVey
Arggghhh. What an IGNORANT statement! How could anyone who understands and knows history say that? I am no Southern apologist, far from it, I admire Lincoln for taking the republic to war to preserve it. But Robert E. Lee was an exceedingly gifted AMERICAN, who wrestled with ethical and moral issues, eventually doing what he thought was right, even though it went against everything he thought he stood for, loyalty, fidelity and so on. Arghh. Look what you have made me do now. I am completely off subject. This is an abomination.
That is just sickeningly sad.