By Steve Otto
It was great to hear of a Texan Valedictorian who put a highly charged political message in her speech. Many students across the country get a chance to give a speech on behalf of their student body, in celebration of their achievement. But this one was special.
According toCNN news:
“A high school valedictorian exhaled as she pulled a piece of paper from underneath her graduation gown.
Gathering her courage, Paxton Smith started the speech she had worked so hard on for her graduation on Sunday.
But the speech the 18-year-old gave ended up being an entirely different speech than she had planned, and that her school had already approved.
She said she initially was going to talk about TV media and content. Instead, the Dallas teenager decided to use her platform to take a stand against a controversial Texas abortion law that had recently passed.”
She went on to blast the new state law designed to eliminate any chance for a woman to have an abortion. Again, according to CNN:
"I cannot give up this platform to promote complacency and peace, when there is a war on my body and a war on my rights," Smith said during her Lake Highlands High School graduation speech, which came two weeks after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the so-called "heartbeat ban" abortion bill into law.”
We need more young people to step forward and use their valedictorian speech to speak out against injustice perpetrated by Republicans and others in our society.. This law is part of a nation-wide attempt to cut back on women’s rights and Smith was very brave to speak out against it.
