Yeah, but what % of the college? And what % of all college kids? And what % of all kids?
I'm a news junkie (NYT, Economist, New York, scan CNN, BBC and Wash Post on-line everyday, plus Institute for Study of War website) who writes books but I'm quite aware how rare that is.
One problem is history teaching in HS is so bad that kids come out with little knowledge or perspective, and most don't take history in college so they lack perspective, not just on world history, but even the basics of American history. And the majority don't go to 4 year colleges (nor should they, having taught college, for many students it's a diploma needed to get a job). One reason the student loan forgiveness issue is contentious is try to explain to someone who went to work at 18 why they should pay taxes so some kid who partied through school, majoring in sociology and leaving without any skills, should be able to skate on his loans. Progressives simply ignore the moral hazard issue.
Real change is almost always incremental, if you depend on Courts, well we saw where that leads, if you depend on small majorities to ram through policies, well, you end up with cycling, where the next election reverses those policies. To enact permanent change, you have to patiently build super-majorities, which means compromise to build consensus, and accepting half a loaf. This galls Progressives, who are often driven by self-righteous as a consumption good, that is, they're rather feel good than do good.
And a hard lesson to learn is the limits of government and the danger of overreach, you cannot ask government to eliminate racism, antisemitism, or homophobia - unless you want to set up "re-education camps" and we know where that leads. At best you can alleviate the worst impacts of bad behavior. And if you want to change people's minds, self-righteous preaching is not the optimal strategy.
One thing I like about Walz is he's not a PC progressive, he's an old-fashioned Midwest progressive - he didn't pick up his attitudes from some elite college from a professor nostalgic for his heyday in the 60s, his is "grounded in the soil." It goes back a hundred years and is based in the small towns and the tradition of looking after your neighbors.