It was just a matter of time . . .

I hear there is some ruction and disquiet caused by one of our best female artists Thandiswa Mazwai, she who is all woman, in my humble estimation that is. My dear wife finds her less agreeable but only in form. Give me that voice, let me enjoy the sway of those enchanting hips, ohh give me Thandiswa. All that of course is not the cause of this post, the ruction however is.

Thandiswa is reported to have expressed, in rather strong and dare I say unlady-like terms, her dislike of the Afrikaans portion of the South African national anthem; a portion more affectionately referred to as "Die Stem". For those who may not know (a very likely event given how long it has been since Black people were official referred to as kaffirs); Die Stem was for a long time the national anthem of the Republic of South Africa. It succeeded God Save the Queen which was the national anthem during the days of the Union; during which days Black people were officially known as natives alternatively savages.

The 90's came around and with them, the winds of change. All hitherto terrorist and seditious organisations were unbanned and political prisoners (yes, there were a lot more than one Nelson Mandela), were released. Celebrations ensued and as in the nature of celebrations, there was inebriation followed by deviation from cause of liberation in favour of peace. With peace comes the necessary cessation of hostilities. For some reason whenever peace is the objective, there seems to be a requirement for general amnesia. There seem to be a requirement that we forget the events that led to the initial hostilities. I can still remember the mantra "let by-gones be by-gones". Just in case you think me smug; I confess that I too chanted that mantra for I too were sick of war and hostilities. We all wanted it to end; so much so we forgot the fundamental requirement of peace making - the truth.

It is in this elated inebriation and lust for peace that apartheid left but Die Stem and Springbok stayed behind; and as Nelson Mandela rose to address the rainbow nation, he said: "I greet you all in the name of peace..." To demur then would be nothing less than being a ghastly party pooper. Who wants to be known by those terms? Truth, logic and common sense do however have a nasty habit of periodically coming to visit (between the festivities), just to see if the brain is still in use and the heart is still pumping. It was in such a moment that I wrote words to the effect that "I am now stuck with Die Stem in the middle of my National Anthem". What is one to do? The blue sky and the depth of the sea poetically expressed in that reminder of my dehumisation are not of the endless beauty and bounty of this land but of my exclusion. Put differently, they are expressions of triumph over the god-less.

Like with most if not all symbols, be they street names or public buildings, very little discussion or sharing was countenanced. The proverbial majority was apparently in favour of all the proposed changes or lack of changes and so it came to pass and thus it remains. For the sake of contrast: when the famous February 1990 speech in the then parliament had been made. Frederick Willem de Klerk still put a question "whether Black people were worthy of citizenship of the Republic of South Africa", to the White people - in a referendum! You do recall "Vote Yes for Change" right? It was still up to the White people to decide whether I was welcome to dine at the national table, as an equal, in the land of my birth and origin. One would have thought that similarly all national symbols (and all things proudly Sout African) would have been put to a referendum too. Not just to a competition to determine who could compose the nicest and most reconciliatory anthem. But making peace and asssuring White people that they will not be systematically butchered or robbed of their hard earned possessions is no easy chore. No less so was the reassurance of the investor community of the natives' commitment to peace. Peace, was more important than doing what in my mind (then and now) was the right thing to do. As one would be encouraged to stop at a red traffic light or to pay one's TV licence.

As in the nature of things, common sense and logic come for their periodic visits. As in the nature of things common sense and logic are often ignored or banished to the back of the national mind. All that until such realities can no longer be ignored, as was apparently the case with the fair and talented Thandiswa. Such expressions of dislike of Die Stem are of common occurence among those that I associate with; which begs the question: which majority was in favour of this state of affairs in the first place?

It was therefore only a matter of time that someone with a greater voice would refuse or hate to subject it "to where the cliffs would give an answer".