The further you get from the political centre the more lies you encounter.

[Tino]

I have never met a person that thought of themselves as extremist, true some realise that not many others hold the same opinions as themselves, but they often put this down to the others not being enlightened as they are. I have also come across many people who have presumed that they carry average opinions as they have not examined their own views.
There is also an aspect to this that many people think the people around them are the normal ones and those further away are the ones at odds with the normal people. Thus we get views like western christians are a bit odd, but they are more or less like we atheists, but as there are belligerent muslims so all muslims are belligerent. Or I am liberal middle of the road, therefore those that agree with me are normal, and those that don't are necessarily extreme, all these ways of thinking depict the person carrying them as lacking in self examination.

I'm with jonb on this. Also, I'm confused by "moderates" in the same way that I am with people who say they are "spiritual".