"When dawn spreads its paintbrush on the plain, spilling purple... ," Sons of the Pioneers theme for TV show "Wagon Train." Dawn on the mythic Santa Fe Trail, New Mexico, looking toward Raton from Cimarron. -- Clarkphoto. A curmudgeon artist's musings melding metaphors and journalism, for readers in more than 150 countries.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

An AK-47 on the flag, another blog country--Hey USA?

A visitor from a country with an AK-47 and bayonet on its flag clicked on this blog today, making it the 142nd on my list of countries  with readers.
Looking up the facts I saw the flag and read about it, immediately thinking  the USA should follow suit, with the complete lack of gun control in this country and constant, read constant, mass shootings (one today in Kansas).
Let's take a hint from our friends in Mozambique and replace all our stars with assault weapons. It's be more appropriate.
But I'm not making fun of these people in southeast Africa, who put the weapon on  their flag as a sign of their struggle for independence from the Portuguese in 1975. It's the only U.N country  with a weapon on the flag. More on that later.
The country, named after an early Arab trader, now has 24 million people and is one of the poorest in Africa, thanks to being exploited by Portugal for centuries for its minerals, spices and slaves. Vasco de Gama visited it in 1498 and it was colonized in 1505 as Portuguese East Africa, an important trading island, port and country that declined after the Suez Canal opened in 1869.
After gaining independence for about two years, it descended into civil war until 1992, has had multiple party elections and is a relatively stable republic. Official language, spoken by about 50 percent, is Portuguese, with others speaking tribal languages of the Bantu people. Main religion is Christianity, plus large Muslim and tribal religion minorities.
Ah, the flag, adopted in 1983: Green for the riches of the land, black  the African continent, yellow  the country's minerals, and red  the struggle for independence. The rifle stands for defense and vigilance, the open book the importance of education, the hoe  the country's agriculture, and the star Marxism and internationalism.
This reader and country make it the 25th on the continent who have followed this blog. 
Africa is huge. Look at the map below. And, to my new reader, welcome and thanks.

1 comment:

  1. The map overlays are startling. Mozambique north to south is the same distance north to south as south central Texas to Wisconsin. That was an eye opener to me.

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