Rand Paul–Rational to the Point of Harmful

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Watching the entire video, makes me shake my head.  Because I can’t help but recognize Rand Paul, as the worst kind of rational thinker.  Rational to the point that he loses all sense of empathy for the fellow members of his society.  Protective to the point of rationalizing rights for individuals that he can’t choose how to balance between individuals living within the same group.

Within the United States, the owners of private capital can choose how to use their capital, but within the context of the greater society.  Period.  Constraints on the individual exist.  Rand Paul’s inability to clearly state his position on where society can impinge on individuals, speaks to his inadequacy to be in public office.   Government’s role, in part, is to make the determination of where the impinging starts and ends.

There is a legitimate argument for where the government should begin and end.  Has been in the past and will be in the future. But, Rand Paul provides no clue where or how he would make the distinction of when to start or stop.  Sad.  His example, creates a vision that if the government can tell a private business owner no discrimination on race, then the private business owner must not discriminate elsewhere, such as a gun owner’s desire to carry their weapons.  The assertion of if no discrimination on one dimension, then no discrimination on another, is infinitely rational and infinitely foolish.

Newsflash—Government in the United States gets to make the determination of where the impinging starts and stops, but has no obligation to be rational in the case by case application.  This is the pure beauty of a checks and balance system between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.  The branches do not march to each other’s precedent.  One group always takes the lead in establishing a new and inconsistent with historical precedence, way of defining how the society will live.  That’s why we have had one constitution for 200+ years—one document guiding an evolving society as it ebbs and flows through the unknown future, unpredictable developments, and evolving values of its citizens.  Our system allows for evolution in the role of government, but to have a policy maker flirt with an issue in the Rand Paul manner, and then not be able to stake out and support a clear position–naiveté at its finest.

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