Rarely has a weapons system had an impact on the cultures and ideas of man as has the AK-47. The AK-47 has even been embellished as a symbol of state as is the case in Mozambique whose tricolour flag depicts the AK-47 in crossed arms with a hoe set against the background of a star and book. While Mozambique is the poster child of State failure and oppression, they seem to have captured the eternal struggle of man in part with their choice of symbols. Call Sign Lunchbox tells more...
With our hands, we can choose to create or destroy and the implements of the hoe and AK-47 reflect those instinctual drives in representational motive. The AK-47 can be the implement of destruction or revolution. It can maintain order or destroy it. It is used in the hands of both the freedom fighter today as well as the oppressor.
So, herein lies the disturbing truth many in modern society eschew in a clamour of ignorance or outright refusal; violence itself is a central and active ingredient in change. Violence is so much a part of our fibre and DNA that many look to purely ignore it despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Thus, the AK-47 sits in our psyche as both liberator and destroyer. It’s a tool to be mastered and respected, whose use can bring good or ill in the echo of a muzzle flash.
The AK-47 represents to many our shared behaviour, our legacy of violence and change. Think deeply on violence. Look to the AK-47 and learn its lessons and parts in history.
Coming to an understanding of the characteristic role the AK-47 plays in the triumphs and tragedies of mankind is unavoidable in the profession of arms. Believe in peace as you may, but power does come from the barrel of a gun as Mao Tse Tung avows.
Always remember, order demands violence, and if taken too far, order becomes tyranny and the AK47 will be seen in the hands of Partisans and Revolutionaries alike no matter the side or conflict that surfaces. The AK47 in all its millions of copies, evolutions, and brands has become the undying symbol of both the tyrannical and the revolutionary. It is found in the hands of fighters on all sides and is a tool that is unavoidable in the 21st century battlespace we occupy.
This story is from the March 2019 edition of Private Military Contractor International.
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This story is from the March 2019 edition of Private Military Contractor International.
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