I've found it useful time and time again to be wary of recent converts of all stripes, whether it's Veganism, Objectivism, Haskell, etc.

If I remember, enlightenment was not found in the extremes under Kaundinya.

That message really seems to be lost I think. Both in the purposeful following of an extreme ideal, or in not being mindful of extreme habits.

Even if one is not a Buddhist, the concept of the middle path can be wonderfully freeing from expectations of extreme ideologies that sometimes ferment under civilizations.

The popular American impression of Buddhism is pretty weird - historically, it's heavily skewed towards Japanese Zen Buddhism, but secondhand, from the Beats* . The way people talk about Zen, you'd think it had antioxidants or something.

* Due to their infatuation with the San Francisco Zen Center, Shunryu Suzuki, etc.