The Spanish proverb of the day is:
“En el país de los ciegos, el tuerto es el rey”.
“In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king”.
This ancient dictum came to us via Eramus’ Adagia. Originally written in Latin (“in regione caecorum rex est luscus”), it’s been translated and adopted into many other languages, including English. However, I’ve never heard anyone actually say this proverb in English, while in Spanish people say it all the time.
It means that when you are surrounded by people who are incompetent, you only need to have a smidget of competency to shine. This refrain invariably comes to mind when I attend a City Council meeting.
And, indeed, it may be also help explain the election of Cardinal Bergoglio as Pope.
Back in the day, in the late Republic (of Viet Nam), this was a favorite aphorism for us G.I.s.