The United States was founded by what current Americans might call a cult

The Puritans were a radical, high-control group with doomsday beliefs, a fact we rarely acknowledge.

The Pilgrims and Puritans eagerly awaited the end of the world, when the chosen would be saved and everyone else damned.

Trump often described the 2024 election as “our final battle,” an undeniable reference to Armageddon .

Frida Ghitis: Those who cheer our president ultimately crave an autocrat, which results in part from that favorite Puritan narrative of rescue and punishment.

She says we've arrived at this sad state of affairs because our Puritan roots have primed us to equate the number in a person’s bank account with their moral character.

Ghitis says this is America , a plutocratic oligarchy run by a small number of rich people for their benefit.

In addition to scapegoating immigrants and the trans community, Trump , his Cabinet , and his supporters have methodically weaponized diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Some scholars believe the Salem witch trials of 1692 and 1693 developed specifically in response to strict and isolating patriarchal structures.

Isolated groups inevitably trend toward violence, the result of losing social feedback, suffering from groupthink.