In Europe, public discourse operates as a check on power. In America, public discourse tends to effect the purposes of power. So when someone tells you a rational story in Europe, more likely than not, it's an attempt to generate a rational critique of power, possibly in support of the exercise of power, possibly critiquing the exercise of power. In America, though, when someone tells you a rational story, they're likely effecting the purposes of power.
This is the paradox: For the democracy to function, it needs to be able to recognize when the rationality comes from above, and when from below. And especially in the context of populism and mass media, when the discourse that appears to be from below tends to control, it requires an increased awareness of whether it is in fact an exercise of shared rationality. Elevated discernment is required precisely when the broadest-ranging speech from below seems to control.