And anyone who can look at the state of the world today and not get radicalized are not to be taken seriously. The only “extremists” are the people who think everything is just a-ok and that radical change is not needed.

Without a doubt true. I need to educate myself about history a lot more to confront and, world spirit willing, dispel the doubts from my original comment. I think it doesn't help that "real" historians (like those the linked redditor mention) all have negative - albeit more nuanced compared to lay people - evaluations of AES countries.