A bad system will beat a good person every time. (Or will it?)

Do you believe this to be true?

I was at an event yesterday, in which somebody said this to me as an absolute truism in their world.

I questioned them about why they saw the world through this filter, and they remained steadfast in their explanation that, “if the system is horribly bad, no matter how good the person is, that system will always defeat them.”

I immediately thought of Margaret Mead who said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

As I started to explain this alternate thought process, I was met with a rigid perspective that seemed unshakable from their point of view.

The truth is, this is not accurate at all.

You can delineate all sorts of examples, be they corporate, political, institutional, athletic or otherwise, in which a person was feeling thwarted by the constraints of a restrictive system and opted to rise up above that system, and either escape, institute change, or completely overthrow the system.

History is littered with continuous examples of empires that have been extremely restrictive to certain parties or organizations. At the end of the day, there is always a person like George Washington, or group of people who have seen the flaws in the world that are being imposed upon them. They recognize that this empire is restricting their liberties and their cumulative actions, which ultimately gives them the necessary stimuli to rise up and pursue the liberation from such constraint. Witness the French Revolution.

There may be countless individuals who have found themselves thwarted by “impossible to deal with” organizations, and as a direct consequence, they might perceive today’s aphorism as a truism.

I choose to write about it, because I am an avid believer that if there is a set of circumstances that are unfairly restrictive, and which preclude individuals from achieving their highest achievements, then perhaps the only best solution is to either extricate oneself, from such a quandary or collectively work together to ensure that such repressive policies are overturned in favor of a more fair establishment.

A good person will beat a bad system, using the right game plan, resources, strong will and determination.

Happy Friday!