Three and a half years ago, I would have described myself as a Liberal Democrat. But then, Clegg got in to bed with Cameron and betrayed everything that he ever stood for.
So now I tend to describe myself as a liberal, with a very small "l".
What does that mean?
RIGHTS
It means I believe that, with very few exceptions, individual rights outweigh group rights. That the rights of society are not as important as the rights of the members of that society.
This is not true in all cases - when an individual member of society does something wrong (murder, theft, playing their Beethoven too loud) then they should be punished. They forfeit some - but only some - of their rights because of their actions.
But in the vast majority of the cases, the right of the individual to do what they will should be paramount. And no one should have the right to interfere with the life of that individual unless (as I said above) that individual starts behaving in a way that interferes with the life of others.
I realise that that might sound a little confusing, but - as with all things in life - it is easier with some concrete examples, rather than a simple abstract concept.
If Mr Smith wants to write stories about overthrowing the government, he should be free to do so. If he wants to complain about the government being crap, he should be free to do so. But if he gets to the point of actually attempting to violently overthrow the government, then he should be stopped and punished for it.
If Miss Jones wants to paint her house a bright purple with yellow spots, she should be free to do so. It is her house (assuming she owns it - if it is rented, that is a different matter) so she should be able to do with it as she sees fit. But if she then starts to paint the house next door (that isn't hers) then she should be stopped.
If Mr Noble wants to watch a movie about one person beating the living crap out of another, he should be allowed to. He isn't hurting anyone else, so what is to stop him? But if he goes out and beats the crap out of someone else, he should definitely be stopped and prevented from doing so again. (Unless he gets in to a boxing ring first - apparently beating someone in to unconsciousness is perfectly acceptable when done as an entertainment sport).
If Miss Tyler wants to watch a movie about two women having sex, she should be allowed to. If she doesn't force others to watch it against her will, and doesn't force other people to engage in sex against their will, she is not hurting anyone.
And by extension, if Miss Tyler and Miss Blythe, or Mr Smith and Mr Jones, want to engage in consensual sex between themselves (even all four of them) then they shouldn't be stopped or prevented from doing so. But if they force this on anyone else, they should be stopped.
A person has the right to decide what happens to their own body. They should not be forced to have surgery, or other medical procedures, done on them against their will. And - conversely - they should not be denied surgery or other medical procedures just because of who they are, or because the person they are asking to do these procedures doesn't believe in them.
And a person has the right to worship their god (or gods) in whatever way they see fit, providing it doesn't cause anyone else to suffer for it. So if Mr James wants to worship Satan by playing music and burning black candles, he should be allowed. But if he wants to worship Satan by sacrificing virgins, then he shouldn't be allowed.
I realise all of this is somewhat idealistic and utopic, and that when you get in to the ins and outs of the specifics, it gets way more complex, however the basics are pretty simple.
SOCIETY
It is the role of society to care for the weakest amongst them. The government, especially, has this duty.
While it is tempting to say that "I'm okay, so what do I care about the rest of you" there is a danger in that thought - the last five years have seen chaos on a global level as the financial systems of nearly every country crashed catastrophically.
So while you might be living the life of luxury at the moment, tomorrow you could find yourself out of a job and out of a home, and forced to become one of the "benefit scroungers" you looked down on only a day before.
The key to all this is a well structured, well built social welfare system. One that provides for every person according to their need, and is funded by every person according to their ability to pay.
This welfare system should cover the basics that people need - healthcare, housing, education and financial support. It should not give the recipients a life of luxury, but should provide them with enough to live with some level of dignity and to be able to have the same chance in life that everyone else does.
Because the simple truth is that everyone of my parents' generation and my generation is going to depend on our children's generation (and possibly our grandchildren's generation) to run this country in the future. To run our education system, our healthcare system, our legal system and our government.
And it should be self-evident that we want the best of the next generation to do this. Not the ones who could afford it, but the ones who want it - who deserve it because they are the best of the best, not because they are the richest of the rich.
This especially applies to healthcare and to education.
To healthcare because it should be a basic human right to receive the best medical treatment when they need it - that they shouldn't be fobbed off with second rate doctors just because they come from the inner city rather than the home counties. That they shouldn't have to make a choice between getting medicine for their children and getting food for their children. That they shouldn't have to be discharged from hospital two days before the doctor recommends it just because they can no longer afford to stay there.
To education because education is the silver bullet - the solution to almost every problem the world faces. If you educate children properly, you can wipe out discrimination, racism, bigotry, homophobia, religious intolerance. If you educate children properly, you can teach them to think, to study, to research. That they shouldn't just accept things they are told by people in authority, That they should think for themselves and make decisions based on information and data, not on preconceived notions and outmoded, bigoted ideas.
If you are lucky enough to have been born in to a rich family, or lucky enough to have been put in a position where your future is set, you could just sit back and enjoy it - you earned it, so why should people who aren't you be of any concern to you - or you could accept it is just luck, and that in the world in which we live, it might end tomorrow.
And if you are unlucky enough to have been born in to the poorest part of society, and all you see ahead of you is a dead end job where you will struggle to feed yourself, let alone a family, then you shouldn't just have to sit back and take it. You should be able to look forward to a better future. And while it might not be one where you are ruler of the country, or owner of a manor house in the country, it might be one where you can live comfortably and ensure your children can get a better life than the one you had.
SUMMARY
I don't believe that this is too much to ask - that, for the good of future society, everyone gets the same chance in life. The chance to make something of themselves, the chance to access decent education, decent healthcare, to not be forced to chose between food and medicine, or between school and food.
That everyone be allowed to live as they see fit, as long as they don't interfere with the lives of others.
That those who do commit crimes forfeit some, but not all, of their rights. And that someone who is only accused of a crime - no matter what the crime is - forfeit none of their rights.
And that those convicted of a crime be treated fairly and justly, no matter what the crime is.
Everyone gets treated equally, fairly and justly - to me that is what being a "liberal" means.
And it is what Liberal Democrat used to mean.
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