The primary purpose of an anthem is to unite the nation. No hymn can unite South Africa, as it excludes many of us on the basis of belief. (Sorry, Reverend, but not all of us are Christians, or even believers.) Nor can any "revolutionary" or "struggle" song unite us as a country. We're a multi-racial, multi-cultural country with a complicated history, and your "struggle heroes" will always be "terrorists" to some of us. An "anthem" which glorifies victimhood isn't psychologically healthy for anybody, least of all for young people, and the idea that a "lament" might qualify as a national anthem is just plain sad.

South Africa has an amazing pool of musical talent. We need a completely new national anthem - one that doesn't exclude anyone, on any basis. One that unifies South Africans in hope. One that includes all 11 official languages, plus sign language – perfectly possible, with harmonies – with an "easy" version for those of us who can't really sing. 

/. . . continued