The Contract With America versus The Covenant With God
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The germination of this writing springs from the seed of my experience in my work in the Bronx and Harlem over fifty (50) years. During this time I have had various kinds of contacts with both the world of the Church and the world of Body Politic. At times, it has been difficult to tell one from the other, but the factor for me, which has been a distinct line of demarcation, has been the Covenant with God that has come down to us through the faith of Abraham; the courage and clarification of some of the prophets; and the climatic Revelation of God to us through the person of Jesus, the one I believe is the Christ. Therefore, when I use the phrase "Contract with America" in quoting from and in reference to the book of that title, which was the guideline of the so-called conservatives of the Congress of ’94 and ’95, I am not limiting this writing to them. The book "Contract with America" is just one stage, or marker, on the highway toward the destiny which some of the so-called "conservatives" and the "Religious Right" would lead us into the future. My contention here is that these ideas of both their book and philosophy are not futuristic at all, but they would turn back the clock to the time when the United States of America was an agrarian society and sparsely populated; to a time when the "industrial revolution" was just taking shape and the conflict concerning slavery was the main social topic. This is not the formula for living in a highly industrial society. One in which Urbanism is geared to be the hub which radiates to all by instant communication. Also a time in which the Industrial Revolution is giving way to a form of "Scientistic (my word) Production" in which "Electronic Automation" is the chief ingredient and the Computer is "Robot King." In the light of this, what we are saying is that old agrarian bucolic styles of handling the poor by the charitable individual acts from the hearts and hands of those who would help, which was a part of an agrarian society, must give way to a more updated way of caring for and handling the poor by the charitable individual acts from the hearts and hands of those who would help, which was a part of an agrarian society, must give way to amore updated way of caring for and handling the uplifting of the poor, aiding children and others in need. Our new method, which is already in progress, must be a part of our social structure. This should no longer depend on a "hit-or-miss" type of aid to those who are in need, but to have a built-in structure which considers this as an obligation for us all. In thinking of my work in New York and the struggle with the "have nots," has made me sensitive to the past efforts made to alleviate poverty by helping them out of their state of being. This, because I have been part of so many movements of this kind – movements of help and self-help. My first effort was to serve over a nursery school in Harlem in the early forties – from which I have seen numbers of great persons develop. One of my first wider efforts was to serve with the late Fiorello LaGuardia’s "Commission on War Time Care of Children." After this, I became President of one of the Branches of the N.A.A.C.P.; the Vice Chairman of the Board of HARYOU-Act; one of the Founders of the Ministerial Interfaith Association; Board Member of the Opportunity Industrialization Center of New York; Projector of the idea that brought about the Ethnic Minority Local Church Initiative of the United Methodist Church; and the Chairman of the Board and one of the Founders of the Harlem Urban Development Corporation (HUDC). This work and involvement has given me opportunities to see how programs, which have been down-played and ridiculed by many in our present time, have been in reality, the saviors of our present society and have given us hope for the future. Therefore, it is incumbent upon me to tell our people of the good which has gone before, and to warn them of the dangers ahead if we fail to build on these progressive foundations which have been handed down to the present generation. I have done this writing as a positive warning to the United States of America and the other Americas. I have done it in the names of the great "liberals" and "progressives" who have given of themselves in thought, hard work, suffering and sacrifice for the aggressive progress, hopes and freedoms which we now enjoy. These are the fruits of their labor to be eaten by us, but the seeds should be passed down to committing generations. I have received so much from them. I cannot continue to enjoy the fruits without seeing it as a legacy to be passed on. Also, I bow my head to God, who through his covenant, gave us the Christ to open the highway to freedom and admonish us to keep the road open so that all of his people can walk thereon.
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About the Book
The Reverend Dr. James, by reflecting on the roots of public social policy, causes us to re-examine the central issue of the extent to which American urban society cares for the "least of us." He ably makes the point that the seminal document that has guided national and local public policy since the 1994 elections, termed the "Contract with America," has been at tremendous odds with the higher principle upon which this nation was founded – what he describes by way of contrast as the "Covenant with God." Dr. James’s analysis places these developments in the context of this covenant, and he brings to this discussion a rich personal experience, having devoted his entire professional life to serving the spiritual and socioeconomic needs of the people of New York City’s communities. America today is so affluent, and many of its citizens are enjoying a level of personal material comfort unlike that ever before experienced. But, in the absence of a public policy that recognizes the entitlements of all Americans to a share of that comfort, by virtue of our citizenship, a "contract" that relies so heavily on individual largesse does nothing more than pay lip service to those ideals upon which the nation was founded. The so-called "Contract with America" has represented, not an opportunity to exercise greater responsibility to the public good (as it has been touted), but an abdication of that responsibility. The economies of this country, and of our urban centers, are booming on many levels, but too few are sharing in that bounty. We must, as Dr. James suggests, question, challenge, and act on the fact that conditions are worsening for the poor while the rich continue to live better existences. Lack of access to education, affordable health care, and job opportunities – all these problems – are walking with us into a new century.
About the Author
The Reverend Dr. William James was born in Meadville, Mississippi. He attended high school at Monroe Louisana (there were no high schools for black people in Franklin County Mississippi at this time, where Meadville is located.) After high school he went to Southern Christian Institute, Mt. Buleah College at Edwards, Mississippi where he received an A.A degree. He went from there to Butler University at Indiana where he received a B.S. degree (School of Libera Arts) and a B.S.L. from Butler School of Religion. From there, he went to Drew University in Madison New Jersey where he received a B.D. (now M. Div.) and also received an M.A. in religion. Drew awarded him a Doctor of Humane Letters. He has taken special courses at Chicago University and the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Doctor James served as Pastor of the United Methodist Church in New York, East Calvery, where he helped to promote early childhood education. He did this as his first civic work as he served on the late Mayor LaGuardia’s Commission on "War Time Care of Children." He served at Trinity United Methodist Church in the Bronx and brought the church from zero members to 900 members in the eight years of his pastorate. There, he worked with street gangs and began to be called a "Street Minister." After Trinity Church, he became Senior Minister at the Metropolitan United Methodist Church, which he had for some thirty-three years. When he left Metropolitan, he became the Executive Director of the Multi Ethnic Center located at Drew and working with Boston University School of Religion and Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., he taught the dynamics of Urban Ministry at Drew. For ten years, he served as the Executive Director of the Ministerial Inter Faith Association of New York. Dr. James has been a part of many organizations in the United Methodist Church and in the City of New York. He has sent some 3,600 young people through college; seventy-two of these became clergy persons of various denominations.