Introduction

So this will be my first post. I'd just like to briefly introduce the purpose of this weblog, since that seems the best introduction possible!

I suppose you could say that law, politics and morality are three of my great interests. I have views on each one which I will put forward here. I do not claim to be unbiased, in that I have opinions which are at times strong. I will certainly in many cases be trying to persuade people of a point of view, although sometimes I may just wish to ask for consideration of a matter. Clearly, I do not have all the answers. Personally, I never wish to feel that I do have all the answers, because I think that trying to figure out for oneself what is right is part of what makes us human. With that in mind, I welcome reasoned criticism, and may well modify my views - I certainly have in the past, and it is quite probably that I will in the future.

I suppose that one might reasonably ask what are my qualifications for discussing these topics, and it is true that they are not the most obvious.
For law, I am in the first year ofstudying for a degree in Law (Jurisprudence - BA) at Oxford University, UK. I intend to qualify and become a barrister specialising in human rights law.
For politics, I am a member of the Liberal Democrat party. I follow the political situation here in the UK, and that in the USA (with some despair I might add). Upon becoming a barrister, I intend to make my way into politics, hopefully becoming an MP and (in my ideal world) leading the Lib Dems to a sterling victory in the elections!
For morality, I studied Religious Studies at A Level, which was split into Philosophy and Ethics. The latter taught me about some of the main school of thought on morals and ethics. More importantly, perhaps, I constantly strive to find what is, to me, right, so that I can endeavour to do so. Not that I am perfect, far from it, but it is much easier to shoot at the goalposts if you at least know where they are!

I would like to mention at this point Legal Fiction, a blog for which I have much admiration. Unfortunately it looks like the writer, Publius, may well have blogged his last. It is a great shame, and I would recommend reading through some of his archives, as he has made some excellent points with a legal expertise far, far in excess of my own. I did not always agree with his opinions, but I always had respect for the methodology. In any case, while Publius focussed on the USA, any comments on current events here will often consider the UK. However, I intend generally to look at thinks from a point of view somewhat more abstracted and timeless. I do not usually have the time to catch up on all the latest stories.

So the introduction is already long enough. The last point I will make is that I will generally not refer to my life (it is not excessively interesting!) but certain things with a baring on the subject matter here may crop up from time to time. Now I shall move on to making my first post!