Going Big with Dr. Rand Paul: Independent Leadership from the Operating Room to the Senate Floor

Summary

Going Big! with Kevin Gentry

Episode: Going Big with Dr. Rand Paul: Independent Leadership from the Operating Room to the Senate Floor
Date: January 26, 2026
Guest: Senator Rand Paul
Host: Kevin Gentry

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Episode Overview

This episode features a wide-ranging conversation between host Kevin Gentry and Senator Rand Paul, exploring Paul’s personal history, unique approach to risk, influence of medical practice on his leadership, and steadfast commitment to principled, independent thought in both life and politics. The episode blends biographical anecdotes with insight into Paul’s philosophy of leadership, courage, and public service, making it essential listening for aspiring leaders across fields.

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Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. Growing Up: Nature, Nurture, and Early Influences

• Rand Paul’s childhood & political family:
  • Had a typical, sports-filled childhood in the South, initially dreaming of being a baseball player.

    “When I was a little kid, like I was like a lot of little kids in the South, I thought I'd be a professional baseball player...” (02:19 – Rand Paul)

  • His father, Ron Paul, was elected to Congress in 1976, immersing young Rand in the world of politics.
• Importance of reading:
  • Deeply values being well-read, often advising young people that reading is a key to leadership.

    “You want to be one of the, you know, rulers of the universe. You want to be an important person in the next generation ... read books, be well read, because there's so few people who are well read.” (02:51 – Rand Paul)

• Early encounters with ideological debate:
  • The 1976 Republican convention (supporting Reagan over Ford) made a lasting impression.

2. Principles First: Foundations of Individualism

• Household of principle and debate:
  • Exposed to thinkers like Hayek, von Mises, and Ayn Rand as a teenager.

    “My dad gave me a copy of Ayn Rand's novels when I was a teenager ... I was exposed to those ideas at an early age.” (05:34 – Rand Paul)

• Nature vs. nurture:
  • Attributes his individualism to both family upbringing and innate temperament.

3. Dispelling Myths: The Name ‘Rand’

• Not named after Ayn Rand:
  • His full name is Randall; his wife encouraged him to use Rand.

    “I was named Randall ... my wife said when we got married, she said, no, you need to be Rand.” (10:03 – Rand Paul)

  • Clarifies the coincidence of his name’s similarity to the author Ayn Rand.

4. Medical Career: Experience Outside Politics

• Rapid and unconventional path in medicine:
  • Skipped the traditional route, entered med school early, and practiced ophthalmology for nearly 20 years.

    “I was in a hurry ... I got a lot of credits, you know, going to college. And I did, I just kind of went through very, very quickly ... was able to get in without a college degree.” (12:52 – Rand Paul)

• Satisfaction and perspective:
  • Finds medical work more immediately gratifying than politics, recalling his humanitarian work in Guatemala and Haiti.

5. Risk Taking & Path to the Senate

• Sudden, unplanned entry into politics:
  • Decision to run was not meticulously calculated; announced before even discussing it with his wife (prompting temporary trouble at home).

    “It really came on rather suddenly ... I really had an thought it through, had not discussed it with my wife, and I was in quite, quite the doghouse for quite a while...” (15:09 – Rand Paul)

• Low perceived risk:
  • Saw little personal risk, since he had a rewarding career already and would be taking a pay cut by entering public service.

    “I guess the way I always looked at it, was there zero risk? Because I thought there was not a great chance that I could be elected being for limited constitutional government…” (15:09 – Rand Paul)

• Approach to standing up:
  • Willingness to stand publicly and accept electoral challenge, motivated by principle.

    “I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid to tell the truth. If people say they're going to campaign against me, I'd say it's America, come do it.” (15:09 – Rand Paul)

6. Leadership & Independence in Public Life

• Sticking to principles over popularity:
  • Many people, even those who disagree, respect sincerity and principled stands.

    “I don't agree with everything you're for, but I know where you're coming from and I know it's sincere. And I think that is really one of the best compliments anybody can really get.” (08:32 – Rand Paul)

• Contrarian but constructive:
  • Proud to challenge both Government and Party establishment when necessary.

7. Case Studies: COVID, Civil Liberties, and Government Spending

• COVID-19 as a test of humility vs. arrogance:
  • Critiques Dr. Fauci for lack of humility and overreach.

    “The arrogance of Anthony Fauci is representative of the arrogance of regulators ... that thinks they know best for you in your personal life or in your business life.” (19:07 – Rand Paul)

• Debate on government overreach:
  • Draws a line between expert advice and mandates, especially concerning personal liberty and evidence on masks, immunity, and risk.

8. Concerns for America’s Future

• Fiscal instability and the national debt:
  • Highlights danger of unsustainable mandatory spending and potential global doubt about U.S. solvency.

    “My biggest fear is of a Friday where they show up to sell the debt and no one buys the debt... There is a point at which people lose control.” (22:32 – Rand Paul)

• Critique of both parties:
  • Emphasizes bipartisan failure to tackle debt, refusing to let “team politics” dictate his stance.

9. Advice for Aspiring Leaders & Young People

• Read deeply, become informed.
• Pursue a secure career before politics:
  • Urges young people to first establish themselves financially and personally.

    “Get a career first, have a job, make money, become more secure financially.” (25:07 – Rand Paul)

• Engagement matters most in primaries:
  • Advocates involvement in primaries, where votes and effort make outsized difference.

    “One place where you can get involved, where your volunteer effort, your dollars and your vote are more important than everybody else in a general election, as a primary...” (25:07 – Rand Paul)

• Defend liberty above passing legislation:
  • Reminds that true legislative responsibility is protecting freedom, not expanding government.

    “The job of a legislator in a constitutional government isn't to pass legislation. It's to protect liberty.” (25:07 – Rand Paul)

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Notable Quotes

• “I'm not afraid to tell the truth. If people say they're going to campaign against me, I'd say it's America, come do it.” (15:09 – Rand Paul)
• “You want to be an important person in the next generation ... read books, be well read, because there's so few people who are well read.” (02:51 – Rand Paul)
• “The job of a legislator ... isn't to pass legislation. It's to protect liberty.” (25:07 – Rand Paul)
• “The arrogance of Anthony Fauci is representative of the arrogance of regulators ... that thinks they know best for you in your personal life or in your business life.” (19:07 – Rand Paul)
• “I think I was born an individualist ... but I also, by nurture, was ... in a household that believed in individualism, believed in individual thought, believed in a limited government so small you could barely see it...” (05:34 – Rand Paul)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• [02:19] Early years; the value of reading and exposure to politics
• [05:34] Principles at home, influence of classic liberal thinkers, nature vs. nurture
• [09:59] The real story behind the name “Rand”
• [12:52] Accelerated path in medicine and the gratification found in it
• [15:09] How and why he ran for Senate, risk analysis, family dynamics
• [19:07] COVID, the importance of humility among leaders, and government mandates
• [22:32] National debt, institutional issues, and skepticism of both political parties
• [25:07] Life/career advice for young people and future leaders

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Memorable Moments

• Rand Paul's candid story about announcing his Senate run before telling his wife—landing him “in the doghouse” (15:09).
• Recounting the raucous 1976 Republican convention, vividly describing the “Viva!”–“Olé!” back-and-forth between Reagan supporters (04:14).
• Paul’s plainspoken critique of the “arrogance” in political and regulatory spheres, especially during COVID (19:07).
• Unflinching advice to the next generation: Defend liberty, even if it’s an abstraction and a harder sell than free stuff (25:07).

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Summary

Senator Rand Paul’s Going Big! interview is a masterclass in independent leadership—documenting a path that defies both partisan and professional boundaries. From a childhood surrounded by debate and books to risk-taking in both medicine and politics, Paul’s story infuses every answer with practicality, wit, and a deep sense of purpose. Whether recounting family influences, professional pivots, or fiery stands on the Senate floor, Paul underscores that living and leading by principle means sometimes going alone—and going big.

For those seeking inspiration to chart their own ambitious, uncompromising path, this episode delivers honest insight and timeless encouragement.

Transcript

[Senator Rand Paul]

But it was in the first inkling of doing this wasn't something well thought out or risk taking. Can I do this? What are the chances? How am I going to do this? Then once my wife got over being angry with me and we had a good, you know, long discussion of this, you know, she's been my biggest champion since then. But then, as far as the risks of winning, losing, I guess the way I always looked at it was there was zero risk because I thought there was not a great chance that I could be elected, being for limited constitutional government, that I wasn't going to bring home the bacon. I was going to tell you, there is no bacon. We're out of money. And there wasn't the risk in the sense that if I was defeated, I had a job. So for me, it was less of a risk than most people. Most people, this is going to be the best job they ever got. It's the most pay they ever got. And if they lose, they. They might have to go to a lower paying job. For me, it was the opposite. I had a very good paying job. I was going to be taking a pay cut if I came here. And I still feel kind of the same. And in the sense that I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid to tell the truth, if people say they're going to campaign against me, I'd say it's America. Come do it.

[Kevin Gentry]

Welcome to the Going Big Podcast. I'm your host, Kevin Gentry, and this is the place where we celebrate bold moves and big ideas. Each week, I sit down with inspiring leaders, entrepreneurs, and change makers who are making a significant impact in their careers and in their communities. Whether you're looking to level up your leadership, pursue your passion, or just get inspired to take your next big leap, this is where those stories come to life. Now, if you're listening on iTunes, YouTube or anywhere else you tune into podcasts, be sure to hit that subscribe button so you'll never miss an episode. Now let's dive in to what it.

Means to truly go big. Welcome to another episode of the Going Big Podcast. I'm your host, Kevin Gentry, and and with me is my guest today is Senator Rand Paul. And Senator Paul, it's great to have you. I just want to dive right in so the audience can begin to get a really good picture for you. And let's just start at the beginning. Who was Rand Paul growing up? And did you as a child want to be in politics? What did you want to do? Did you have any thoughts at that time? We'll go further along, but help us get started.

[Senator Rand Paul]

You know, some of that's top secret. You'd have to ask my mom, you know, for permission. But no. When I was a little kid, like I was like a lot of little kids in the South, I thought I'd be a professional baseball player until I was about 9 or 10 and discovered I really didn't quite have the talent necessary for that. But I played all the sports, played baseball, football, track, swimming. You know, I was very active in all those. Always liked school. Was, you know, an avid reader once I learned to read really. And still I recommend, you know, I talk to a lot of young people. I think it's, it's, it's lost knowledge. I mean, we live in a world where you meet people who've never read a book. And for young people, I tell them, you want to. You want to be one of the, you know, rulers of the universe. You want to be an important person in the next generation. You want to be a leader in your country, read books, be well read, because there's so few people who are well read. But, you know, I grew up in a political family. My dad was elected, first ran for Congress when I was about 11. That be 1974, was elected when I was 13, in 1976. And especially. And that was my first taste at really national politics because Reagan, you know, was running against Gerald Ford at that time for the Republican nomination. It was unusual to have an incumbent Republican president challenged. But this was different. Since Ford hadn't been elected vice president, he was appointed vice president. Then all of a sudden he became president. And so it was an unusual time and circumstance. But almost all the establishment of the party, you know, went with. With Ford. My dad was newly elected, brought into the white down with Ford. And Ford says, will you support me? Says, well, I'm going to support this Reagan guy. And I got to go to the national convention. That was a little bit My first taste of national politics was seeing the convention on hold. And it was historically one of the closest conventions ever.

[Kevin Gentry]

Right, right.

[Senator Rand Paul]

Texas and California went for Reagan. My dad was the honorary head of the Texas delegation. But the Ford people wanted to keep them separate because they were a big, big body between Texas and California. So they seated California on the far left and Texas on the far right with all the Ford people in between. But the Reagan people would start these cheers during it, and they would yell viva. And then Texas would yell ole. And they would go back and forth. This would go on for 20 minutes at a time, just everybody Stomping their feet, blowing horns. It was really like being at a sporting event. But that was my first taste in politics as a, as a kid.

[Kevin Gentry]

That is great. I never knew that aspect, but I knew the convention was closed. Well, that's interesting. You've already touched on a number of things because obviously you grew up in a political household, but your dad, we all know, very deeply principled. It was the principled and right thing to support Ronald Reagan, but it was going against party establishment. It was certainly not the comfortable thing to do. And you also mentioned reading, and our friend Morton Blackwell talks about, you need to read to lead. You need to really understand all these concepts and ideas. So what was it like growing up in a household with Ron Paul as your dad exposed to all these ideas and these principles?

[Senator Rand Paul]

It reminds me of a funny story. And I think you and I may have shared this story one time, but I had met the Koch family, which were successful family from Kansas, who were very libertarian and aligned with myself and my father. But I met the son, and he was going on and on about having to read von Mises and Hayek and all these people. And I got up to speak next and I said, well, yeah, at least you didn't have to read it in the German. But because you were Austrian economists, he was, you know, there's definitely those books were around the household. My dad gave me a copy of Ayn Rand's novels when I was a teenager. So I read all of these things I can remember. He said, you know, now a lot of things he says about individualism are good, but not everything. You know, read it and be discerning and make your mind up. But, you know, I was exposed to those ideas at an early age. And I think it, you know, people always have this question about who people are and who do they become. You know, it's usually with regard to other topics, but nature versus nurture. But I think it's true that in all of us, there's both nature and nurture. I think I was born an individualist. I was born stubborn as the day is long, opinionated. But I also, by nurture, was there in a household that believed in individualism, believed in individual thought, believed in a limited government so small you could barely see it, that really should primarily operate at the local level and do almost nothing, which is kind of what the Constitution said. Very, very limited powers were expressly granted to the president or to the Congress at the federal level. And most of it was supposed to be taken care of by the states and municipalities there's only a few of us left, actually, and only a few people elected who actually believe that anymore. But it's important thought because it also is part of our prosperity, because we become prosperous as a nation when we leave people alone. When we leave people alone to create, to have ideas, and to also reap the success, you know, of. Of their ideas. That's how America, you know, puts the rest of the world to shame. Even in the last 20 years, you compare America to Europe and you see how we have far outpaced, you know, the stagnation of. Of primarily socialist Europe.

[Kevin Gentry]

Well, by the way, I should say, you know, you just said you're a person of deep principle and you don't fit in neatly to a partisan box. God bless that. I mean, you are first and foremost defined by these principles you mentioned. Now, with Reagan running, and he was the governor of California, it was not crazy for him to challenge Ford. But you've always been willing to kind of stand up. Maybe you're just contrarian, as you say, or independent or individualistic. Did any of those experiences kind of begin to shape you for how you've thought about the world and your role in it?

[Senator Rand Paul]

You know, one of the things I always noticed when people came up to my father was that they would come up everywhere. Old, young, in between, they would come up and they'd say, you know, I don't agree with everything you're for, but I know where you're coming from and I know it's sincere. And I think that is really one of the best compliments anybody can really get. And is that even though people may question something you've done, said, or voted for, they know where you're coming from and that it's not. I'm not doing it to get a new donor. I'm not doing it because I'm, you know, at the, you know, the will of some sort of special interest, that these are heartfelt notions, not only of what the Constitution binds us to do or not do, but also that because of what our founding fathers, you know, gave to us, it really is what has allowed us to be such a prosperous nation. I mean, he'll say, oh, the rule of law is great, and we haven't, and that's why we're prosperous. That's part of it. But the rule of law also in our country at least restrains government and keeps it out of the affairs of business for the most part. And that has allowed us, I think, to be such a, you know, a prosperous nation indeed.

[Kevin Gentry]

All right, well, I want to dig into that a bit more because that clearly defines who you are and the important going, big role you play in the country today. But just a little bit more about you growing up. First of all, if you could answer that question that still exists out there, your name Rand. Were you named after Ayn Rand?

[Senator Rand Paul]

No, I was.

[Kevin Gentry]

We can dispel that once and for all now.

[Senator Rand Paul]

I was named Randall Randy as a kid, and my wife said when we got married, she said, no, you need to be Rand. And so I became Rand.

[Kevin Gentry]

That's awesome.

[Senator Rand Paul]

So we have to have to give credit to my wife for that. But it's funny, when, when, when I did shorten my name, I didn't really immediately think. I wasn't involved in politics. I was a physician. And I really didn't have a second thought that people would be coming up to me saying this. It wasn't in any way planned the attachment to Ayn Rand. It was just my name shortened. But my wife and I had a taxpayer group when I was an ophthalmology resident in North Carolina, and we did a press conference, gave awards to state legislators who we thought we were good on the tax issues. And when we did, the first question I was asked by the media was that, were you named after Ayn Rand? And it's like, wow, that's the first question I've gotten. So I have gotten the question quite a few times through the years, but no real association. But I am still a fan. I'm not a. I don't, I don't think I'm an acolyte or a disciple, but I'm a great fan of Ayn Rand. And the thing is, is for all the people who want to denigrate her, you know, millions of people read her. Doesn't make you, make you great. But millions of people were attracted one to her storytelling. But also because she was saying something, and at the time it was outlandish. She was saying that there would be these mediocrities, these people that promoted not based on their merit or their intellect. And there were these, you know, Peter Keatings and Ellsworth Tooheys that were, you know, they were just these personalities with no real merit that somehow will be pushed along. And nobody thought that would happen, that we could have a society that were, that was not based on merit, that was based on your connections to people or the color of your skin. And lo and behold, we kind of have worked our way towards the stuff that she said that wasn't believable. Actually, as you look around yourself. Some of it actually is now believable.

[Kevin Gentry]

Well, I couldn't agree with you more. 40, 50 years. There's no book that people mention more that got them motivated in some way than the Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged or anything else that she did, but certainly those principal ones. All right, you mentioned being a physician. That clearly has informed you in many ways for your public service and good, that you haven't always been in public service, that you are in the real world, so to speak, in a real profession. And tell us a little bit about you went to Baylor, I believe, and then you quickly jumped into medical school, developed an ophthalmology practice. Tell us about how that influenced you and prepared you for that run for the Senate in 2010, by the way, at that point, it was when you first ran the murmur was, wow, was he named for Ayn Rand? But anyway, back to that. How did your background in medicine prepare you?

[Senator Rand Paul]

You know, when I was a kid, I was in a hurry. And growing up, I was in a hurry, and I was like, oh, I don't know if I can do this. It takes so to be a physician. So I got to college, I said, I'll just rush through. And so I got a lot of credits, you know, going to college. And I did. I just kind of went through very, very quickly. And then I said, well, what the heck, I'll just apply. And nobody did it. So it was already kind of thinking outside the box. None of my colleagues applied early. I just applied early. I took the test early, applied early, and then was able to get in without a college degree. So I was kind of in a hurry to get started. And. But it's funny how your perspective change in a hurry to get started. Think, o, gosh, 10 years is going to take so long. And then the 10 years kind of flies by and I tell other people that are starting the journey on medicine and training that even though it's so long, it kind of keeps you young in a way because you're a student. When you're a student and you're in school, you're around young people, you're around youthful ideas. And it used to be you went to the university and you're around openness and intellectual curiosity that I guess is as was abandoned a decade ago, but maybe making a resurgence. But I enjoyed all my time in medicine. I practiced for almost 20 years. I was able to travel internationally. I've done surgery in Guatemala, done surgery in Haiti, and have organized some other trips. So no, I've had a great career in it, I miss it sometimes. It's much more gratifying. Someone comes in and can't see you do surgery and they can see again. Medicine is, you know, great deal more immediate success than things in politics, that's for sure.

[Kevin Gentry]

Well, now we want to get to your decision to run for office, and this involves risk taking. And you clearly, though, we all know you because of your independent voice, your willingness to challenge, not just challenge the establishment, but challenge what you know to be not right. You have fought to do the right thing. I also want to talk a little bit more about how principles really influence what you do. But what's your take on risk taking? When you ran in 2010, it was no guarantee you were going to when you can look back and you've been reelected comfortably and many times since then. But how do you talk to people? How do you think about taking on a risk like that?

[Senator Rand Paul]

You know, I guess when I got started in it, I'd been involved in politics peripherally through my father, but then also I'd had taxpayer groups in North Carolina during my training. When I came to Kentucky, I was in private practice, but I had a Kentucky Taxpayers United. We did the same thing. We ranked the legislature, and it was often my wife and I and a handful of others that sort of, you know, began these groups. But when I began to think about running for office, it really came on rather suddenly. The. The. The senator that was in office, Jim Bunning, there were rumors he might not run. Somebody called me from a property rights group that I had spoken to before up in Northern Kentucky, and he said, hey, I know this guy in the media is really fair, and if you tell him you're interested in running, I'll bet you he'll write about it. I said, well, I have. I hadn't thought I was interested in running yet. And so we kind of arrange this phone call almost like in a day, in an afternoon in my office. I talked to the reporter and I said, sure, if Bunning doesn't run, I am interested. And the big mistake I made was I had not really discussed this with my wife yet. That became sort of a problem when the person I talked to was an Associated Press reporter, and the story was plastered across the state, and it made huge headlines, much easier than I thought it was going to be to announce something like that. And I really had an thought it through, had not discussed it with my wife, and I was in quite, quite the doghouse for quite a while trying to explain to her why I had not discussed this with her. But it was in the first inkling of doing this wasn't something well thought out or risk taking. Can I do this? What are the chances? How am I going to do this? I guess it was a little bit predicated on the fact that I had helped in my dad's campaigns. I had started giving speeches, I had a little bit of a bug that maybe I can present some of these ideas. And then once my wife got over being angry with me and we had a good, you know, long discussion of this, you know, she's been my biggest champion since then. But then as far as the risks of winning, losing, I guess the way I always looked at it, was there zero risk? Because I thought there was not a great chance that I could be elected being for limited constitutional government, that I wasn't going to bring home the bacon. I was going to tell you, there is no bacon. We're out of money. And there wasn't the risk in the sense that if I was defeated, I had a job. So for me it was less of a risk than most people. Most people, this is going to be the best job they ever got. It's the most pay they ever got. And if they lose, they might have to go to a lower paying job. For me it was the opposite. I had a very good paying job. I was going to be taking a pay cut if I came here. And I still feel kind of the same in the sense that I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid to tell the truth. If people say they're going to campaign against me, I'd say it's America, come do it. You know, and I do have this one guy down the street, Pennsylvania Avenue, occasionally says he is going to do that. I hope he doesn't because I still support a lot of the things that he does. But at the same time, I'm not going to be a shrinking violet and. And why be up here if I'm not going to stand for something?

[Kevin Gentry]

Well, thank you, by the way. And I love the fact when you talk about standing up for principles, you also do it in the vein of humility. And that is, is we don't have all the answers, we don't have perfect knowledge. And these people who think they do, it's just nuts. But thank you for your willingness to stand up. What has doing that, I mean, whether it's related to challenging Dr. Fauci during COVID or on the war powers or on civil liberties, certainly government spending and debt, you, I mean, you stand up at a time and people are many People are cheering, saying, thank goodness somebody's speaking up. But a lot of people who've got the train going down the track, like, oh, not again. So, thank you. But what does that tell you? What encouragement would you give to any of us when we think we should speak out and do something? Because, frankly, the powers against you when you do it are quite considerable.

[Senator Rand Paul]

Well, I think the ideas of the free market and liberty in general are humble in origin in the sense that if we are free and we have a First Amendment, you're free to have your opinion. I'm free to have my opinion. If you were free in business, you're free to have your business. I'm free to have my business. It's the people who have arrogance and a belief that they are so right that they can then inform you and tell you how you have to behave. That's an arrogance that should be, and often is, intolerable. That was the essence of Anthony Fauci. So what I would want for a public health doctor, someone who suggests to me things based on what they know, but not someone who tells me what to do, and not someone who tells me I have to do things. And most of the thing he told us to do to millions of people turned out to be wrong. He said natural immunity didn't exist and that if you had it, you weren't safe. Well, it turns out you were very, very safe. You could possibly get it again, and people did get it again, but there are virtually no reports, if any, reports of people getting it a second time and dying. So really, we should have encouraged the whole world. Once you get it, you're pretty darn safe. You're also pretty unlikely to infect other people once you've got it. So we were worried initially about grandparents. The rule of thumb shouldn't have been to cloister grandparents away from their grandchild and forever, or lock them up in nursing homes. It should have been, if your kids have already had Covid, about two weeks later, they can go back and visit Grandma again. It's no danger to Grandma from those kids. I told the president this, I told the president's doctor this, and they didn't listen to me. I said, he has 2,000 Secret Service agents around him. This was when there was no vaccine. I said, once people have had Covid wait two weeks and put those people on the president's detail, now you have people around him who are somewhat blocking the virus because they've already been infected once and they didn't really pay attention. And everybody's wearing 14 masks and this and that. But I also said the cloth mask didn't work. And the science is pretty strong. They don't. And then with the 6 foot of distance, this is where humility actually has, or a lack of humility has the opposite effect. Six feet of distance wasn't true. In fact, it's much greater than that. It's probably the virus can go 30 or 40ft in a closed room. So the advice really, if you were 75 or 80 years old, you didn't want to die of COVID and you're. You were 50 pounds overweight, the advice really should have been to stay home really for several months and not be in big crowds or be in a choir practice. Six feet away wasn't enough. But also, if you were going to feed your spouse who was 75 years old and they had Covid, you shouldn't go in with a cloth mask or a T shirt across your face. They probably should have worn an N95 mask, washed their hands, taken it off immediately, and tried to minimize contact with the person sick until they could get better. Or if you had immunity, you didn't have to worry if the husband already had it. Anthony Fauci should have been saying to the husband, you can feed your wife, you can care for your wife. You have no concerns. If you've just recovered, you are absolutely immune for probably several months. So really, the arrogance of Anthony Fauci is representative of the arrogance of regulators, the arrogance of any other busy body that thinks they know best for you in your personal life or in your business life.

[Kevin Gentry]

Well, you obviously, I hope, are going to continue to step forward in leadership. How do you think about the future?

[Senator Rand Paul]

You know, some days I'm optimistic.

[Kevin Gentry]

You've got a lot of problems, got a lot of things to deal with.

[Senator Rand Paul]

You know, some days I'm optimistic, and other days not so much. I mean, the debt is a real problem. The debt's a real drag. And we have this institutional sort of mandatory spending that never gets voted on. That's two thirds of the spending, and it's driving the deficit. We're adding about 2 trillion a year. And then we are also, we are also have accumulated about $38 trillion worth. So I am often disappointed that neither party really wants to tackle the mandatory spending. We're getting to a point even with, I would still say, moderate interest rates, you know, the interest is a trillion dollars a year. Now. My biggest fear is of a catastrophe. My biggest fear is of not a gradual decline, not a gradual inability to pay, but my Fear is of a Friday where they show up to sell the debt and no one buys the debt. Now people say it won't happen. We're the world's greatest country. We have the world's reserve currency. There is a point at which people lose control and people say, oh, things are fine. Look at the stock. Market's great. It's going through the roof. Has anybody looked at the price of gold lately? $4,600. Price of silver, almost $100 an ounce. Why are people buying gold and silver? Because they're uncertain and they're worried about the future of governments like ours, who. We act like an empire. We're everywhere around the world. One day we're telling Venezuela what to do. The next day we're telling Iran what to do. The next day we're shaking and wagging our finger at Columbia and at Cuba. So I do worry about the debt and the size of government, and I worry that people are good on my team, the Republican team, when the Democrats are power, when the Republicans are power, they kind of look the other way. And the debt still grows at the same speed. So really, it's a bipartisan problem. And I try to be an independent voice and equally critical, but it sometimes doesn't make me the most popular person in Washington. I still think in Kentucky I'm fairly popular, but in Washington, they don't want to hear it.

[Kevin Gentry]

Yeah, well, tough medicine never tastes good, right? You know that as a doctor. All right, so help us. For those listening, what advice would you give to somebody else who maybe shares your principles, is motivated by what you're sharing, how they might step out and do something? What do you advise? Maybe interns in your office or young people you encounter about identifying their gift and taking risk? And as you said earlier, reading looking for mentors. What advice would you give to anyone listening about how they can go big in their life in the manner that you have?

[Senator Rand Paul]

All right, we'll have to end up here because I have to run to the floor to give a speech. But I think for young people, obviously, read, become informed, keep reading, keep becoming more informed. Young people often ask me, should I want to run for office? I usually say, get a career first, have a job, make money, become more secure financially. But also, if you're not going to run for office, and very few people actually run for office and very few people who run win, there are ways to participate. Now, I'm not that partisan, but I will tell you there are no Democrats that care about the debt and care about size of government. So really, to my mind, I'm advising young people who I think believe in limited government. Liberty, there really isn't a choice. There might be a third party, but there really is. Of the major parties, only the Republican Party. That doesn't make the Republican Party good. But what it informs you is that if you want to get involved, one place where you can get involved, where your volunteer effort, your dollars and your vote are more important than everybody else in a general election, as a primary, you know, one fifth as many people vote in a primary. So your vote's five times more valuable, your dollars five times more valuable. And because all Republicans aren't created equal, and because all Republicans, Republicans aren't good, and all Republicans don't care about the debt, find one that does in the primary, work hard for them, and there, I think, your money and your time goes much further. And then run for office if you choose to. But really understand that. And this is the hard part, people think, and sometimes I'm judged this way too, by people who get, you know, they're upset, they're in a hurry. Why aren't you doing enough? Why don't you pass more legislation? The job of a legislator in a constitutional government isn't to pass legislation. It's to protect liberty. Most of the legislation we passed up here takes away from your liberty, some incrementally, some in huge chunks. So really judge your legislators and want to be part of the next generation that says, I want to defend liberty. I'm not there to bring home bacon that has to be borrowed from China because we're running these massive devastations. It's, I'm going to protect your liberty. I think if we do that, we can win. But it is more difficult because liberty is an abstraction. The other side, the debate is much simpler. They'll give you a free car, a free education, free college, free food, free stuff, manna. You know, this is our difficulty is we are trying to sell something or encourage people to accept and believe in something that is an abstraction, not a, not a concrete image. And our debate and our argument will always be more difficult.

[Kevin Gentry]

Well, Senator Rand Paul, thank you for joining us today on the Going Big podcast. Stay firm for Freedom. We appreciate all you do for the founding principles of this country. Keep at it. Thank you.

[Senator Rand Paul]

Thank you.

[Kevin Gentry]

Thanks for tuning in to the Going Big podcast. I hope today's conversation left you feeling energized and ready to tackle your biggest goals. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes, YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts it really helps spread the word and it gets these inspiring stories out to more people. You can also find more content, resources and updates at our website, goingbigpodcast.com Remember, the only limits are the ones you don't challenge, the limits that you impose on yourself. Keep pushing, keep growing, and above all, keep going big. See you next time on the Going Big podcast.