There’s an old Turkish proverb that goes:
“The forest was shrinking, but the trees kept voting for the axe. For the axe was clever, and convinced the trees that because his handle was made of wood, he was one of them.”
It’s a haunting metaphor — deceptively simple, yet devastatingly accurate. The trees, seeing something familiar in the axe’s wooden handle, trusted it. They mistook shared appearance for shared interest. And in doing so, they unknowingly endorsed their own destruction.
This proverb isn’t just about forests or axes. It’s about how manipulation works — how systems of power gain legitimacy not by brute force alone, but by appearing to belong, to represent, to be one of us. In politics, in organisations, and in social movements, the most dangerous threats often come cloaked in familiarity.
A quote often attributed to Bertrand Russell adds another layer to this pattern:
“First they fascinate the fools, then they muzzle the intelligent.”
Whether or not Russell actually said these exact words, the sequence he outlines is all too familiar: win over the masses with charisma, distraction, or fear, then silence those capable of seeing through it. What begins as fascination becomes indoctrination. What begins as populism ends in authoritarianism — or, in some cases, mass complicity.
Why It Matters Today
In a world driven by rapid media cycles, performative leadership, and algorithmic echo chambers, these warnings are more relevant than ever:
- Are we voting for “axes” because they look like us, speak our language, or flatter our fears?
- Are critical voices being sidelined, not just politically, but in boardrooms, institutions, or communities — dismissed as “negative” or “difficult” simply because they ask hard questions?
- Are we so charmed by the handle that we forget what the axe is designed to do?
What We Can Do
- Think critically, not emotionally. Just because something feels familiar doesn’t mean it’s working in our favour.
- Listen to dissenting voices. Often, the ones being silenced are the ones we most need to hear.
- Don’t mistake identity for integrity. Just because someone looks like us, shares our background, or uses the right buzzwords doesn’t mean they’re acting in our best interests.
The forest may be shrinking — but we still have a choice. We can stop handing power to axes.
If this resonated with you, let’s connect. I’m always open to conversations about leadership, systems thinking, and the importance of integrity in a complex world.
