A Message From Our Founder Mark Bloome

Dear Neighbors,

TAP America is the only answer to BUILDING an economy that is strong and a people who are united.

I use the word œneighbors because as Americans, we are not bound by blood, ethnicity or tribe, but by love of our country. It is simply Americanism that binds us.

If we see ourselves as neighbors, bound by the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, we win. If we are grateful for what we have, not broken by what we don’t have, we win.

I was a Republican the first part of my life, and for many years a Democrat. Now I am neither; just a man who loves his country and sees its sad state of affairs.

I was given a dream: To revitalize our beloved country and make us strong as a nation again. We want to empower America to become economically strong and self-sufficient.

The light of freedom is dimming: We are coming apart because of internal forces of division. A wounded and disabled Iraqi vet told me that when he was in battle the only thing that mattered was that the person next to him could shoot straight; not race, not religion, nor gender.

Every day on TV I see the mix of America: The workers, the slouchers, the gangsters, the cops. They are who we are, a people held together by only one thing, our beloved country. And despite our œissues of politics, race, religion, etc, few would go back to where they came from, be it Europe, Africa, China, Central American, South America, or Eastern Europe.

We are weakened by external forces such as terrorism, and by the costs to both fight it and protect ourselves. Unfair foreign competition is the major reason our economy is weak. Foreign currency manipulation, tainted and cheap products, child labor, etc. allow other countries to sell goods so cheap that American companies cannot compete. They have had to lay off workers and reduce wages. Some companies have moved their manufacturing overseas, and others have been forced out of business

Why do I care about America? The answer is easy: My family. I am the father of three and the grandfather of five, the son and grandson of immigrants. Nowhere but in America could my family rise according to their hard work and ability.

My mothers parents and grandparents were raised in little villages like the one in the movie, Fiddler on the Roof. Mom studied hard, and despite living in near poverty in Harlem, won a college scholarship.

My fathers mother was born in Austria. At 16, she found herself in a family way and her family threw her out. She immigrated to England, where my dad was born, and the family eventually settled in Canada.

My dad moved to Los Angeles and started his own gas station business. Like most immigrants who came to America (be they Irish, German, Asian, Latino, Catholic, Muslim, or Jewish), he faced discrimination. But the oil companies sold him gasoline at wholesale prices and he could buy land and build more gas stations.

In a speech given in February 2010, I discussed the decline in our country — moral, economic, and political. While it is easy to win applause by pointing a finger at others, be they Democrats or Republications, liberals or conservatives, the truth is that the problems facing America were and are created by each of us, and the solutions lie, not with the politicians, but with each of us as individuals. It is likely too late for government to solve our economic problems, but its not too late for ordinary Americans to take action.

TAP America is a call to action for us all. Get up, and lets get moving.

To help our neighbors, TAP America has created three simple action-pledges that anyone can do anytime and anywhere. These simple actions will be the start of the awaking that we Americans deserve and desire.

Sincerely,
Mark Bloome, Founder
mark@tapamerica.org

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Pledge 1:
Dedicate at least 5 minutes of each day towards exercise or physical activity. If we Americans don’t get off our butts and make ourselves stronger and healthier, we will lose both at the work place and in the military. Be patriotic, make our country strong– exercise 5 minutes a day.

Pledge 2:
Practice at least one act of tolerance each week. America was founded through an imperfect yet visionary concept of tolerance. We have struggled amongst ourselves, and through the American vision of tolerance led the world towards human freedom and dignity. Tolerance is patriotic; we all need to be working together against those who want to defeat us. There is an old saying: “United we stand, divided we fall.”

Tolerance is what our founders had in mind when they wrote into the Declaration of Independence: “all men are created equal.” Tolerance is what they had in mind when they wrote in Article VI paragraph 3 in the Constitution: “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”

Pledge 3:
Buy American. At TAP America, we believe the jobs we save and the country we save WILL be our own. By purchasing products and services made in America, you are supporting and stimulating our local and national economies, and getting Americans back to work. Buying American-made is the only real solution to strengthening the American economy.

TAP America believes that

if you live these pledges,

you will feel better, stronger and more productive.

In the midst of such challenging economic,

political and social times, Americans must be strong.

Together we will thrive.

A Poem by Mark Bloome

The mid-winter wondrous
Witch hazels’ yellow flowers
Lure me to their fragrance.

A memory, indistinct as the aroma,
Fogs my mind–
My lost marriage, a love suffered too long? Our words,
Hard,
So seldom a song.

Perhaps Christ rising from the womb,
My heart on the edge of love?
I am here, almost Solstice,
Resurrected like this first fragrance,
Indistinct
Yet deep In memory.