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My therapy homework is always to record my pieces for Folk Music Notebook. I always do it but it’s always late on Thursday night; I have therapy on Fridays. The next step is not waiting to the last minute. Procrastination has been an issue with me my entire life; it’s driven by my anxiety. I only do something when the anxiety created by not doing something is greater than the anxiety from doing it. Sometimes that never happens.

There is a divide in the Democratic Party and amongst progressives on how to present ourselves. Many think we need to play down identity politics and focus on economics. Though for many years I thought the party needed to focus more on economics, it should not come at the expense of social issues. I take issue with calling it identity politics, and that’s the viewpoint we need to present. It’s not about promoting the rights and welfare of blacks, Latinos, gays, and women, at the expense of white straight males. It’s about promoting the rights and welfare of everyone while acknowledging that many groups have been historically discriminated against. I’m not black, Latino, gay, or a woman, but I am human and so are the members of all those groups. Women’s rights are human rights. Black rights are human rights. Gay rights are human rights, and Latino rights are human rights. It’s about equal treatment for all, and that includes for rich and poor, economics is part of the same whole. We are a rich country and can afford to help the disadvantaged. We can level the playing field. The right loves to create dissension in the masses by decrying the unfairness of affirmative action while being silent on the biggest affirmative action programs, legacies and those with the means to pay for college without assistance and to afford the best schools, to live in the best school districts, and to get extra training.

The world is a handicap race but it’s not the best horses that carry the most weight, it’s the disadvantaged that do. It’s not just the government’s right to lighten the load on some, it’s its duty. We need to let everyone know that progressives are looking out for the interests of all, that what we are about is fairness. There will be resistance. When the New Deal was established many of its benefits were skewed to avoid helping blacks, as that was what was necessary to the votes of the south needed to pass anything. It’s been 86 years since the New Deal, we don’t need to stick to that tactic.

Equal pay and equal opportunity are in the interest of everyone. Women’s professions, like teaching and nursing, have been historically underpaid, as women had little choice. Occupations usually held by blacks and immigrants suffer the same fate. If agricultural workers, home health aides, and maintenance jobs were paid better then other occupations would be forced to pay more. Everyone would benefit. Discrimination and economic equality are entwined and cannot be treated in isolation.

It goes beyond tactics to basic fairness. We must defend the rights of the disadvantaged because it’s the morally right thing to do. People like to think of themselves as virtuous, promote equality as a virtue.