"The peacock has too little in its head and too much in its tail."
– Swedish proverb
The title depicts a situation in which subdued people are afraid to criticise something or someone because the perceived wisdom of the masses is that the thing or person is good or important. Apple-polishing to heap undeserved praise, or gaining brownie points, as the West labels it.
There was once a politician who was above the law, choked the Federal Constitution with lopsided amendments, muzzled the judiciary, loathed constructive criticism, incarcerated political dissidents without trial, and committed malfeasance, misfeasance and nonfeasance while in office. Many say it is not irreverent to say he is irrelevant today. He still struts around uninvestigated and unpunished. The rule, range, rage, and role of law does not seem to apply to him and his cronies.
The American president today is said to be vacillating between hallucination and incoherence. And that is being kind. Leaders from other nations who visit him and receive a hero’s welcome when they arrive home is not complimentary at all. But that’s the pothole culture.