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Savannah Lefler was vilified for speaking of Christ; Paxton Smith became a media darling for speaking in favor of abortion.
Two recent speeches of high-school valedictorians have highlighted the double standards of the American public school system.
The first was valedictorian Paxton Smith’s viral May 30 graduation address at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, Texas. She switched her approved speech for one in which she railed against Texas’ new heartbeat bill. The bill, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law last month, would prohibit abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected — about six weeks into pregnancy.
“I am terrified that if my contraceptives fail, I am terrified that if I am raped, then my hopes and aspirations and dreams and efforts for my future will no longer matter,” Smith said. “I hope that you can feel how gut-wrenching that is. I hope you can feel how dehumanizing it is, to have the autonomy over your own body taken away from you.”
Contrast her words with those of Savannah Lefler, this year’s valedictorian at John Glenn High School in Michigan. School administrators told Lefler to change the speech she wrote for an event for honors students after she submitted it for review because it emphasized her Christian faith.
Continued below.
Paxton Smith and Savannah Lefler: Two Valedictorian Speeches, One Double Standard
Two recent speeches of high-school valedictorians have highlighted the double standards of the American public school system.
The first was valedictorian Paxton Smith’s viral May 30 graduation address at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, Texas. She switched her approved speech for one in which she railed against Texas’ new heartbeat bill. The bill, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law last month, would prohibit abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected — about six weeks into pregnancy.
“I am terrified that if my contraceptives fail, I am terrified that if I am raped, then my hopes and aspirations and dreams and efforts for my future will no longer matter,” Smith said. “I hope that you can feel how gut-wrenching that is. I hope you can feel how dehumanizing it is, to have the autonomy over your own body taken away from you.”
Contrast her words with those of Savannah Lefler, this year’s valedictorian at John Glenn High School in Michigan. School administrators told Lefler to change the speech she wrote for an event for honors students after she submitted it for review because it emphasized her Christian faith.
Continued below.
Paxton Smith and Savannah Lefler: Two Valedictorian Speeches, One Double Standard
