Patriotism isn’t confined to small towns

Bernard Mesco, Las Vegas

Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008 | 2:07 a.m.

I’m sick and tired of hearing people say that if you live in a small town you’re automatically a hardworking, great American. More Americans live in the cities, and they are proud of it.

I was brought up in New York, lived in Los Angeles for almost 50 years and now live in Las Vegas, another great city. I believe big-city people work just as hard and see more of life than small-towners. People in small towns work hard at their jobs and are good, patriotic Americans, but they’re not the only ones.

I had a single immigrant mother with five children who had to go to work in a clothing sweatshop to support the family, which included an aunt and a grandfather. I saw the terrible conditions she worked under. I was able to go to school and eventually received an engineering degree from UCLA. I had to do it while bringing up a family and working part time in an automobile plant.

My politics were formed by my working friends and being able to have a well-paying union job. The Democrats were in control of the government for most of my life, and it was a great life. I retired from Hughes Aircraft with a good pension, savings, Social Security and a health plan that carried my wife and me until we turned 65 and went on Medicare. This allowed us to live a comfortable life. I don’t think workers will be as fortunate when they retire now. I would bet they will have to continue working beyond the Social Security retirement age.