It is hard to escape the feeling that South Africans have given up, that we don’t care any more about our country and its future. Horrific acts and stunning revelations no longer shock us. Outrageous utterances are now par for the course. We have normalised unacceptable behaviour. We have accepted that we are led by dishonest men and women, by thieves and incompetents.

In the past week alone two devastating pieces of news hit the country. Anywhere else in the world resignations would have been handed in by shamefaced ministers and the heads of senior civil servants would have rolled. Here, just a few days later, we have almost forgotten the outrages. Life continues in a grotesque and tragic pantomime we call normal...