And it is precisely for that reason that I number among those who believe that Protestantism long ago morphed into a cancer, a malignant creed which possibly even fueled Social Darwinism, namely, that if only the "fittest" should survive, those less able should appropriately be permitted to die off and "free up" this Earth for those "fit" to live in it.
Frankly, I can't see any thinking being subscribing to such putrid garbage. We know the kind of people the Puritans were, we also know the kind of hell a Calvinist society can unleash.
The same people who staunchly support Trump, the Tea Party and similar ideologies blanch in the face of normal, ordinary American citizens, those left behind by the Reagan ("Counter-") Revolution who one fine day begin ranting crazily and uncontrollably, go seek out an arsenal of assault weapons and blow away innocent people, expose themselves in front of teenage girls, and so, so much worse.
"How can such a thing happen??!", they ask dumbfounded (with emphasis on the compound "DUMB"). "He was such a meek, quiet, mild-mannered soul who wanted nothing more than to live as he'd been living, pay his taxes and teach junior high."
Well, you remove the safety net and let a guy fall on his butt once too often, kick him in the kisser for the umpteenth time and expect him just to lie there and cry uncle??!
Sorry, but some of the victims of such pent-up anger (the guilty, not the guileless) got what many deserved.