Here's Why You Shouldn't be Listening to Anything Rand Paul Says

by Nomad

Senator Rand Paul says a lot of things. Some of the things he has said might sound quite reasonable, or at least quotable to some people.
Some other things that he has uttered should perhaps be seen as a warning to the wise.

Back a few years ago, when Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky was talking with University of Louisville medical students,  he was asked if he had any good advice about an upcoming comprehensive exam. It was an easy chance to wow the easily-wowed crowd with a sample of Rand's wit. 

What he said, however, gives us a very clear insight into the character of the Senator from Kentucky.

He told the impressionable minds that on exams he never cheated. He didn't condone cheating he said. Then he added:

But I would sometimes spread misinformation. This is a great tactic. Misinformation can be very important."

According to an article by Jill Lawrence, a reporter for the National Journal:

He went on to describe studying for a pathology test with friends in the library. "We spread the rumor that we knew what was on the test and it was definitely going to be all about the liver," he said. "We tried to trick all of our competing students into over-studying for the liver" and not studying much else.

"So, that's my advice," he concluded. "Misinformation works."

It's an interesting (and somewhat disturbing) peek into the Paul sense of ethics. Cheating is, in Paul's mind, more disreputable than spreading false information. A unique position to say the least.

A Breakdown of Rand's Rationalization

Most people however, would categorize spreading misinformation as, no matter how it is rationalized, lying. When you spread misinformation (as opposed to mere gossip) you are actively aware that the information is untrue. 

So, we can assume that lying, in Rand Paul's eyes, is okay. It is not only acceptable,  it is something to boast about to a younger generation.

In any case, Paul's distinction between the two is absurd. To cheat means to spread misinformation about one's abilities or knowledge or qualities of character. If I cheat on an exam, I am spreading the untrue proof that my knowledge is greater than what it actually is.

And if a cheating husband tells his wife, "Yes, dear, I cheated on you. But- wait!- I never lied to you!" most women would have the good common sense to throw whatever is close at hand.

The "Milk Before Meat" Candidate: Why Romney Doesn’t Deserve Your Vote

by Nomad

The Truth about LyingMost us as children were taught that lying was wrong. There was never any need to inquire too deeply. It just was. Why? Because I said so. End of discussion.

Later, things started getting complicated. Some lies were more acceptable than others- white lies, for example, though, in fact, all of them were still wrong. Technically.

Around the time of high school, that great petri dish for social behavior- most of us simply stopped asking this basic question and accepted lying a part of the human condition. Get over it.
Throughout the long history of philosophy the subject of deception has been a hot topic. Immanuel Kant was pretty categorical. Lying, he said, was always unethical. To be human means having the ability to be rational and to make own choices. It gave a sense of dignity to humanity. A life with any rational choice was no life for a self-respecting human being.
Bear with me.