Hahaha! In those days, it wasn't much of a conflagration - I was very skinny and tiny. Nowadays, one would need to send for the Fire Brigade.

I concur with Dave's point, that if one is very anti-extremism, one could perhaps be called extreme in turn.

At the risk of being called wishy-washy by my late very reactionary pa, I personally believe that fiery and fixedly-held views are dodgy. They prevent reflection and assessment. They also engender hatred and condemnation of other groups, which may or may not be the best way forward.

In Moral Philosophy, we were taught about 'self-evident truths'. I used to silently disagree. Almost any so-called 'truth' can be challenged.
There are probably only a small number of ideas, statements and tenets with which most people (but not all!) would agree. One needs to review constantly ones ideas and to listen attentively even to the extremists in order to understand and adjust ones opinion.