SCOTT LUDWIG: The saga of Sadie Mae Glutz

Jeffrey Toobin’s book “Homegrown” is a comprehensive — and horrifying — account of the events leading up to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing carried out by Timothy McVeigh. Consequently, McVeigh’s ideology, the author points out, contributed to the actions and beliefs of a significant number of like-minded extremists over the past three decades.

In his book, Toobin presents the connection between the ill-fated tragedy in the Sooner State and the rise of violence in politics, of white nationalists … and ultimately the 2021 attack on our democracy in Washington, D.C.

McVeigh was later found guilty of 11 felony counts, including murder, conspiracy, and using a weapon of mass destruction. He was executed in 2001 at the age of 33. But his legacy, Toobin points out, lives on.

But wait: What does any of this have to do with Sadie Mae Glutz, the woman mentioned in the title? I imagine her name probably doesn’t ring a bell. How about Susan Atkins? Still nothing?

Here’s a clue. Charles Manson. Ahhh … now you remember.

Susan Atkins, aka Sadie Mae Glutz, was one of the notorious members of the “family” that fell under the hypnotic spell of their narcissistic and psychopathic leader, Charles Manson, in the late 1960s.

Manson, without getting his own hands dirty, was responsible for the deaths of nine people in 1969, one being actress Sharon Tate — who was 8 ½-months pregnant (the unborn baby did not survive). Two years later, four members of the Manson family — including Susan Atkins — were found guilty of murder. (Atkins eventually died from brain cancer. She was 61 at the time and spent the last 37 years of her life in prison.)

Vincent Bugliosi, the prosecuting attorney responsible for their conviction, wrote a chilling book — one that rivals anything Stephen King has ever written — chronicling Charles Manson’s crime spree. The title, “Helter Skelter,” is a reference to Manson’s vision of causing an apocalyptic war ignited by the racial tensions caused by his crimes. Then, once the war was over, the surviving race would look to the superiorly intellectual Manson to lead them.

The correlations between Charles Manson and Timothy McVeigh are alarming. It’s almost inconceivable to believe how a pair of warped and depraved minds could so easily attract — for lack of a better word — followers. Fortunately, neither one realized their ultimate goal — which was to start what would be the equivalent of another Civil War.

It’s almost unimaginable how so many people could blindly fall under the spell of such reprehensible and evil men as Timothy McVeigh and Charles Manson, two men with no regard for anyone other than themselves.

Something is obviously wrong with this picture.

While McVeigh and Manson (who died in prison of cardiac arrest in 2017) are both gone, their spirits live on. The sad thing is that we shouldn’t be surprised. The country is now so clearly divided, the possibility of an eventual showdown looms ominously on the horizon.

This great divide started picking up steam a little over seven years ago, when people started to line up behind a narcissistic and psychopathic man who professed to having a superior intellect.

Let me know if any of this sounds familiar: A man who has clearly demonstrated time after time that he is only concerned about the well-being of one person and one person only: himself.

We’re all thinking of the same person, right?

If you’re not sure who I’m referring to, here’s a clue: This man and Timothy McVeigh have something in common: a degree of responsibility for what happened in our nation’s capital on Jan. 6, 2021.

Here’s another clue. He has something in common with Charles Manson as well: no concern whatsoever should our country engage in the next Civil War.