Betrayal of the Talented Professional

The repulsing tendency in recent days is what might be called “betrayal of the talented professional”, in which those not necessarily proficient in a field acquire highly brilliant success stories in the very one just because they are popular and well-known, having people who are really talented overshadowed. Such an odious trend can be all the more obnoxious for being the definite cause of throwing into a sense of disappointment those dedicatedly putting arduous efforts into what they love; they might be devastated, thinking it is no good after all being the “diligent” as long as a noxious popular person always pops into their own field, preventing them from taking a lively part there. The other day most TV programs’ entertainment news joyfully reported that Yusuke Kamiji, an actor in Japan, accomplished the brilliant feat of all of the three songs he released for the first time in his life getting ranked within top 10 the-most-frequently-downloaded songs. Such an achievement, they said, was highly creditable, and has never happened in the music history. Of course, I happily congratulate him on this feat, and firmly believe it genuinely resulted from his arch and amicable personality drawing people’s attention. Although it still remains undeniable that I hate that stupid “obaka” boom, I agree with the general opinion that all-in-all he is a likable person; for he, maybe unconsciously, has such a charming vulnerability brought home to those around him that anyone must be extremely insensitive or cold-hearted indeed, not to be inclined to take any tiny fraction of care of him. But at the same time I cannot help admitting that there is an indignant inner voice within myself desperately insisting that that kind of achievement of Kamiji’s should not have taken place for the really talented singers’ sake. The problem is that Kamiji is not a singer; he is just an ex-professional baseball player, and now famous for being a complete idiot. What I want to say is that his invasion upon the top 10 ranking must have prevented some of those really adept in music from winning the brilliant title as a “top10-ranked singer”. Again, I do admit he is a good person, but I can safely say that my inner voice tells me that it is nothing but a despicable irony that one who really devotes himself into what he loves is forced to imprison himself into a sense of despondence, while one who is popular just because he is likable gets more publicity in the field he is not well familiar with. So, I personally think that not only Kamiji but also every pseudo-professional in the world should restrict his business into what he has originally been responsible for. In other words, just because one is popular and well-known does not justify his trying to omnivorously interfere with affairs he by rights should not. We, living in a various-kinds-of-people-mingled environment, have to cultivate our highly discerning eyes in order not to be deceived by any pseudo-professional lurking around the world. In the future, I hope this current unjust society will change into “fair” one in which everybody enjoys legitimate rewards according to the degree of his making efforts