The importance of being snobbish

No one likes a snob.

However, I would like to argue that in some areas - especially in the internet age - it is vital that we do become snobbish.

I was inspired yesterday by a review of a new book (http://www.revkevindeyoung.com/2009/03/why-johnny-cant-preach-1.html). Based on the review (I have not read the book yet myself) one of the main theses appears to be that we have abandoned excellence and true culture in favour of sound bites and low culture. It is addressing the facebook generation who get excited by the gibberish (for one would scarcely call it English) that appears on their friends' status updates or photo comments, yet have never written a real letter; the generation who have vigorous, lively and completely uninformed debates, yet do not possess either the language to articulate their arguments, nor the knowledge to insert compelling content; the generation who consider culture to be youtube knowledge yet have never read a poem or an Oscar Wilde play to be delighted truly.

I am not saying these 'low-culture' things should be rejected. I'm not saying this at all. But we should turn our nose up at them - 'as we use them' and consider them to be what they are - BENEATH US. We should not be content for the sum total of our education and culture to be the malformed ideas and brutalised language of the facebook culture. 

Facebook, YouTube and the like are fantastic, useful tools - but tools they are and tools they will remain. We must use them, love them but keep them in their place... and pursue concurrently and with far greater passion and expectation the 'higher things'.

It is no coincidence that those with things to say are also those who have maintained a healthy level of snobbishness throughout their life. And just a caveat as I close - snobbishness, in the sense it is being discussed now - in no way should be equated with pride (always an ugly thing). It is quite possible to be a humble snobb... for your snobbishness has led you to sit under the instruction of those greater, more informed, more eloquent, more holy than yourself...