I teach (mediocre) college students. And I disagree.
It is not lack of access to information ('facts') that is a barrier to being an intellectual. It is a combination of inability/unwillingness to think analytically about information and ideas. IMHO.
My though process often clashes with somebody who have a very different assumption about how political systems should be organized.
I sometime recognize that the discussion is going nowhere because the difference in ethical and principles are too great.
One example of this is the concept of democracy and the idea of popular consent. I am extremely distrustful of human beings, so my political ideology tend to have a strong anti-authoritarian bent.
I had the exact same objection to the parents argument. IMHO, your experience with college students is a direct consequence of what we know all too well from the discouraging PISA results...
Wow, what an amazing conclusion. Well said and thanks.