We do get outraged – and we do take action on these and many other issues – but nothing happens. Government blocks us at every turn, and the oversight agencies are rendered ineffective by political interference.

In short, many of us are choosing really important battles, but don’t have the power as individuals or as groups to challenge an all-powerful state that effectively has sole control of public resources, and which is essentially unaccountable to the country’s citizens.

Until we, as citizens, recognise that we need an entirely new system of government in order to give meaning to the ideal of a constitutional democracy – and until we start working towards that in every way possible – the status quo will remain unchanged.

Until then, it doesn’t matter whether we choose apparently insignificant battles like arguing the issues that arose around The Spear or more fundamental battles like the state of our system of education. They’re all doomed to be ‘sound and fury, signifying nothing’.