Is it just me, or does anybody else feel uncomfortable as conservatives bashing elitism? There are some forms of elitism that we ought to affirm, usually having to do with quality, with meritocracy, or with certain traditions. Shouldn’t we distinguish between elitism and snobbery, the latter of which strikes me as

unmerited elitism, elitism based on pure prejudice? It just seems to me

that we ought to be careful about denigrating the idea of elitism,

because we could end up undermining the rationale for conserving some

things that ought to be conserved, and come perilously close to

hollowing out the case for excellence, for beauty, for tradition. I

grew up being taught to disdain the fussy highborn ladies of the

Historical Society in my hometown, but it wasn’t until I reached

adulthood that it dawned on me that if not for those elitists, many of

the structures that make the town so lovely and distinct would have

been torn down to make way for something good and practical, like a

Kwikee Mart.