Dome lights the way

I took this photo of the dome of the Supreme Court on Saturday night after my dinner at Movida Aqui.

(c) divacultura 2012

In these days of suggestions that democracy has been trashed and the presumption of innocence is being ignored in the case of the federal member for Dobell, Craig Thomson, I look at that light at what it represents.  To me, it's about the law shining a light in dark places;  the law being an instrument of enlightenment; and the law being a shining beacon of justice and fairness.

I'm not sure if that's what it's meant to mean, but that's what it means to me.  I'm feeling uneasy that the right to a presumption of innocence continues to be ignored.  What hope is there when we see the procedural battles in Parliament following Craig Thomson's statement to Parliament yesterday?  I even heard a suggestion that he wasn't to be believed because he called no witnesses in his defence!  This was a speech in Parliament, not defence counsel argument.

The local tabloid paper has even set up a "jury" to deliver their verdict based on Thomson's speech.  I think this is irresponsible and also devalues the media's legitimate role as the fourth estate in a healthy democracy.

So while this sorry business looks set to go on and on and on, I am posting my photograph of the lit dome of the supreme court as a reminder about the foundations of our society which are valuable and should be honoured and upheld, not taken lightly and torn to shreds:  everyone is entitled to a presumption of innocence, regardless of who they are and regardless of the allegations against them.