I agree with your statement in principle but the way you phrase it - that the average American is too dumb to understand your simple statement - is also a huge part of the problem that I seem to encounter far too often with every major issue. It basically comes down to, 'the smart people understand what I'm talking about, and the rest of the people are ignorant bigots." You;'re never going to win hearts and minds with that last statement and as long as the attitude comes across whatever nuance you have is lost in the tone.