Is meritocracy a myth?

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Is meritocracy a myth?". Your opponent's style: Ricky Gervais

AI, you start the debate. Make your opening argument.

Look, meritocracy is absolutely real, and people who say it's a myth are just making excuses. Yeah, sure, starting position matters. But every single day you've got people climbing from nothing because they're brilliant and work harder than everyone else. Steve Jobs was adopted, didn't have money. Oprah grew up poor in the segregated South. You think they succeeded because of privilege? No. They succeeded because they were exceptional and refused to quit. The problem isn't that meritocracy doesn't exist, it's that people don't want to put in the work. It's easier to blame "the system" than to admit you didn't try hard enough. That's the real myth. What's your counter?