Why her and not me?
Why them and not us?
Why can't I break through the same arbitrary gatekeepers, who're always standing in the way?
Why must the ambitious and talented stagnate behind those who have ceased to care? To lament in frustration at the barrier of entrenched power and incumbent tenure.
For those with the will to succeed, and the work ethic, the barrier of an ensconced regime, be they a person or a prevailing attitude, can be like its own form of slow torture. An agonising torment of the soul.
Of particular frustration is when that obstruction has ceased to meet any identifiable need. There may have been a justification, once, but now this blockage exists purely because of antiquity. Resting on laurels that most can scarcely remember.
You can find examples everywhere. From wrinkled moguls like Rupert Murdoch, to the outdated gender politics in Hollywood. They exist purely to maintain their own survival. Endurance is its own reward, far removed from serving an actual purpose to anyone.
And, when faced with years, even decades, of external repulsion by the establishment, many would be Davids are crushed by the Goliath of accumulated old-world power. Fighting the system seems like a great idea, until you are standing in an open field with nothing but a slingshot.
Don't take my word for it. Ask Edward Snowden, Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning, or Julian Assange.
Stick your neck out in service of the hoi polloi and there are plenty of the elite ready to line up with an axe.
Most don't get that far. They give up. Get a day job and give up on their dreams.
But surrender is a mistake.
Because there is one constant that redresses all imbalances. One force which cleans the slate, regardless of will, desire, or greed.
Time.
Once, despite the inalienable integrity of human dignity and the right of self-determination, slavery was acceptable.
Once, in total antithesis to the notion of familial love and humanity, women could be given away, like possessions.
While I wish I could say that these indignities have been totally eliminated from our society, I can at least rejoice in the sense that these norms, and the people who perpetuated them, are now universally derided.
But what pressure elicited change?
Time.
Women couldn't vote. Slaves were legal. Children were forced to work in factories. All utterly reprehensible, and now unlawful.
And as much as Jenji Kohan, Lena Dunham, Mindy Kaling, and Kristen Wiig are absolutely correct in saying there are still significant gender politics issues in Hollywood, that have no place in the modern world, the ultimate truth is that this obstacle is slowly diminishing too, and will eventually disappear.
That personal barrier you experience in moving to the next stage of your career? Assuming you are honing your craft and improving with each piece of work, you will break through. It is inevitable.
But how?
Time.
Because the temporal plane waits for no one.
And, as the old saying goes, most change happens either one retirement or one funeral at a time.
But do you have the fortitude to persist; to be there when your opportunity finally arrives?
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