“I’m in with the in crowd, I go where the in crowd goes. I’m in with the in crowd, and I know what the in crowd knows.”
If you are of a certain age, when you read those lines, a tune from the past came to mind. The song was appropriately named, “The In Crowd,” and was recorded by Dobie Gray and released in 1965. The song describes a group of people who were “cool,” (a ’60s reference) and they knew it, and who were the envy of all the others who were not in “The In Crowd.”
In an article about the song, Tim Londergan writes that the song “describes all the perks — popularity, romance, inside information — that members of an elite group enjoy.” I was thinking about that old pop song while listening to a radio conversation about another elite group, a current one that has all the perks of popularity, romance, and probably most important, access to inside information.
Whether we want to or not, we’ve all heard of Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein was convicted of sex trafficking charges in 2019. There’s so much more involved with Epstein concerning his crimes, especially involving young girls. But what made Jeffrey Epstein so news worthy were his contacts and those allegedly involved in his sordid activities.
You’ve heard of the names of prominent men allegedly (always say allegedly) involved with Epstein. They range from Bill Gates to Prince Andrew, from former President Bill Clinton to President Donald Trump. Jeffrey Epstein had connections with these people and many more prominent and wealthy individuals. Many of the rich and powerful have denied having anything to do with Epstein and his sickening activities, even though their names show up in his correspondence. In most of the cases, that is probably true.
But what is true, the whole Epstein saga shows there is a whole network of the rich and powerful that circulate in an atmosphere that is way beyond the air that the rest of us breathe. They are truly the “in crowd,” or as Attorney General Pam Bondi called it during her testimony this week before Congress, the “system.”
But how can Bill Clinton and Donald Trump be in the same crowd and have dealings with Epstein? Didn’t Bill Clinton, a liberal Democrat, “feel your pain,” as president? And what about Donald Trump? Isn’t he the original MAGA Republican, who really understands us real Americans? Aren’t they on different sides, with completely different ideologies?
But maybe what Bill Clinton and Donald Trump truly believe really isn’t that different. The true goal of any organization, be it formal or not, is the continuation and growth of the organization. And it is true with the current “in crowd.” Their goal is to keep being rich and powerful, and if possible, become even more. If “feeling your pain” or understanding “real Americans” helps somehow with that goal, then they will be all for it. If not, well, they will be just words. I don’t believe it is some sort of political and sinister plot for world domination, it’s just the rich and powerful wanting to remain rich and powerful.
“I know what the in crowd knows.” The hundreds of thousands of various forms of correspondence from the Epstein files shows a network of communication among the rich and powerful, and that’s just from Epstein’s records. It may not be a formal system, but, from the records, communication was constant and current. They, like Londergan wrote about the song, have access to inside information that those on the outside don’t have. And that inside information, along with access to the others in their crowd, helps to keep them rich and powerful.
And that’s information the rest of us don’t have. With the incoming tidal wave of Artificial Intelligence, they will have even more access to information that the rest of us don’t have. Information from AI that will more than helpful to the “in crowd.”
Nope, I’m not in with the “in crowd,” and never will be. And I don’t know what the “in crowd” knows. But one thing I do know is that one day, “every knee shall bow,” and it won’t be to them.