Martin Luther King, Jr. said, We may have all come on different ships, but were in the same boat now.

Im at an interesting cross section of perspectives. I live in New York City surrounded by liberal people, but I grew up in Alabama with so many who are on the opposite end of the spectrum. Warring opinions are always at my fingertips via social media.

To be clear, I am a liberal progressive. For me, that means that equality is the most important pursuit of any government. To stay afloat, we must stand united. But it also means that I fight for the interests of all people, not the the interests of the few, and never the interests of industry over people. I hold that advancements in science, technology, economic development, and social organization are vital to the improvement of the human condition.

Here are three fundamental things that I believe are critically important moving into the next administration:

Rights for Minorities

Im gravely concerned about Trumps cabinet picks: Steve Bannon is a white nationalist , Betsy DeVos has indirectly supported gay conversion therapy, and Jeff Sessions is a longtime critic of the Voting Rights Act. Im also worried about Trumps choices to fill the Supreme Court Justice vacancy. Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, No democracy can long survive which does not accept as fundamental to its very existence the recognition of the rights of its minorities. We must demand that minorities are protected and empowered to be equal, productive citizens.