We cannot hope to effectively counter extremism if we just focus on schools, universities and prisons: we need to take this online as well.
Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.
This fanaticism is what feeds terrorism. And this is precisely why Muslims must play an active role in opposing hate sermons and incitement to terrorism and extremism in their mosques.
To me extremism is targeting endangered whales in a whale sanctuary in violation of a moratorium. That, to me, is extreme.
I have a particular disdain for Islamic extremism, and of course, in both 'The Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' that's obvious.
Islamic extremism may well be the greatest threat to Western values and Western security in the world.
Virtually all modern forms of extremism accuse liberal Western democratic systems of being hypocritical and, ultimately, weak.
Death metal uses a lot of white face paint and black hair dye to make its point. I quite enjoy this genre for its intensity, extremism and underlying irony: You have to be alive to play it and listen to it.
Now we have a generational threat struggle called Islamist extremism.
Fundamentalism is such a pejorative word and immediately evokes images of angry extremism. In my experience, that's not usually what it looks like. I was a fundamentalist in high school.
As the urgency of the threat presented by Islamic extremism grows, we cannot afford to have the commander-in-chief issue executive orders in direct contravention of laws that he enacted.
As people's opportunities to succumb to confirmation bias increases online - only seeking out information that confirms their prejudices - ignorance, extremism and close-mindedness have continued to rise unabated.
If we all band together against extremism and spend a few minutes a day using tools that have been proven to work, we can make a big difference in defending those values we share as Americans.
