Paxton Smith: A Profile in Courage

@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG @MMFlint interviewed @TexasQBElite (Paxton Smith), the h.s. grad who used her speech to speak out on proposals to limit a woman’s right to choose what happens to her body.  A real profile in courage!

It may seem like @HandmaidsOnHulu is simply a fictional, dystopian story, but we are seeing the ways in which “truth is stranger than fiction” in the Texas anti-abortion law that frees vigilantes to hunt down women (and all who assist them) in exercising control over the decision to bring a child into the world.  It’s hard to say which evokes more fear and shame at the human condition – the horrors presented in “The Handmaid’s Tale,” or the real world young people are coming into. Paxton Smith brings clarity to the world she is facing as she graduates high school, and we would do well to hear her.

“In Dallas, Texas last week, 18 year-old high school valedictorian Paxton Smith decided at the last minute to throw away her school-approved graduation speech to address a new Texas law signed [by] Republican Governor Greg Abbott that would make all abortions illegal as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.  Video of her 3-minute speech has gone viral and caused a rumble – so she joins Rumble with Michael Moore to explain how she summoned the courage to deliver that speech, how positive the reaction has been, whether she defines herself as ‘politically active,’ and the best advice she’s received since going viral.”  — Rumble with Michael Moore

LISTEN TO | “Ep. 195:  The Graduate (High School Valedictorian Speech Edition) (w/ Paxton Smith)” | Rumble with Michael Moore, a podcast | 6/8/2021