How to respond to the Supreme Court's abortion ruling? Get out and vote

A lot of words have been thrown at the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision decimating abortion rights. But words aren't enough. Social media isn't enough. Old school placards and sidewalk protests aren't enough.

Those who oppose social change in America spent decades building the political infrastructure to accomplish what they did, to place a handful of like-minded ultra-conservatives in position to change the law of the land, against the will of the vast majority of American citizens. Every poll shows most Americans view the high court as more in step with 1850s and 1950s America than with the enlightened values of 2022.

The only way to reverse this tyranny and counter those who, like the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, bend all reason to fit their prejudices, is to act. If words and protests serve that end, that's fine but it's the duty of all of us to do much more than talk. We need to get to the polls, get ballots into ballot boxes and build a movement — and a deep bench of responsive candidates — at every political level, from the town council to the county commission, school board, state House and Senate, governor's office and Congress.

The reluctance of our current Florida statehouse majority, many of our U.S. representatives and both U.S. senators to enact stricter gun safety legislation; ensure equal rights for racial, ethnic and gender minorities; and and protect reproductive choice for women of all income levels can only be countered by voting.

Faced with Gov. Ron DeSantis' "Don't say gay" legislation and with Justice Clarence Thomas' threat to undo the right to same-sex marriage, LGBTQ+ turnout needs to be 100% at our August primaries and November general election. Faced with Florida's blatant effort this year to redraw political district lines and intentionally marginalize Black voters, Black turnout needs to be 100%, too.

Faced with the Supreme Court ruling that puts women's rights in the hands of state legislatures like those of Missouri, Arkansas, Texas and Florida, every woman in our state needs to vote.

We don't have mandatory voting, like some countries do. We have to make high turnout happen by organizing in the short-term for these upcoming elections while instilling long-term values in our children in citizens' responsibility to vote. So don't just talk; do.

If there's any good to come from the violence done to our society by guns and rigged courts, it's in hope for a public awakening that the social improvements won over the decades require our personal and continuing effort to sustain. Because, without that effort, every inch of moral ground gained will be lost.

If the upcoming Independence Day holiday is to have any meaning, it can't be just as a concept. Whether you're a high school student or retiree, its meaning has to come from an act you take, as an individual, to lend your energy to an organized voter registration drive, whether through your church, synagogue or mosque or any political or civic organization.

Those of us who aren't war veterans got off easy. We didn't have to ship out to hell in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan. But if you want to show those veterans and their families that the blood they shed for democratic values, the brothers and sisters they lost, the sacrifices they made, weren't wasted on citizens who didn't care, then participate in that democracy by acting to help it thrive.

Sign up today, to create a new army of voters to fight for our personal freedoms. Uncle Sam needs you, and so does Aunt Samantha.

— This editorial represents the opinion of the Palm Beach Post Editorial Board, which is comprised of its executive editor, editorial page editor and editorial writer.

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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Editorial: Go vote in response to Supreme Court abortion ruling