Things undeserved

This is not a subject I think about often, but when I do, I can't help but to feel slightly uncomfortable. This is to say that just like every other sapiens out there, I also have insecurities, pride issues, and all the not so appealing complexities that comes along with the dna.

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Maybe not so much when it comes to things of the heart, because I've grown old enough to be able to see past most of the fluff, but surely when it comes to ideas of merit. Merit, there goes that word again, and honestly it's going to continue bothering me for the rest of my life, because I can't seem to understand it entirely.

As I see it today, because circumstances are never the same, and nobody truly starts from the same yard so to speak, the concept of merit is somewhat tainted to begin with. Yes, of course we are sold the idea that if we apply ourselves, if we put in the work, we are bound to find success, granted we define such word prior to embarking on the perilous journey.

But my friends, here is the deal, or at least here is where it gets really confusing to me. It seems to be the case that due to our tribalistic tendencies, our definition of loyalty and the very concept of a moral compass is so subjective, that defining it, or the attempt to do so is only for those who lack sanity.

To abandon abstracts as I'm sure you would like me to, let me frame this conundrum with a common scenario you have either seen, or lived yourself. Who is more likely to get the job? The friend or the more qualified candidate? Who is more likely to garnish support? The capable or the more socially adept?

Depending on where you stand, on how you define your own values, how you measure your personal worth, you either subscribe to puristic concepts of merit or social pragmatisms, but nonetheless there is absolutely no chance you don't lean heavily to one side or the other.

You might be wondering what all this has to do with the very title of this post, but I assure you there is a method to my madness. You see, depending on what side of the dichotomy you stand, whether you believe in puristic ideas of merit, or social advantage, you've been at some point in time very conflicted as you've witnessed unfairness, when someone gained things undeserved.... but is that really so?