Sergio Amalfitano’s attitude about the country is as dark and brooding as the name of his vinyl record shop in downtown San Fernando — the Midnight Hour.

He and his wife, Alyssa Castro Amalfitano, who owns a boutique two doors away, say they’re so disenchanted with politicians’ failure to bring Americans together and to make life better for Californians that they’re considering not voting in the November election.

“Everyone is fed up,” says Sergio, 37. “All you can do is work hard, try to make a living and stay in your lane.”

No matter where you venture along the northern fringe of metro Los Angeles, whether it’s the bustling suburbs of the Democratic-leaning San Fernando Valley or the more conservative towns that nestle in the russet-hued canyons to the north and east, you’ll find people who say they have good reason to sing the blues for their country.

They’re feeling weighed down by the onslaught of inflation, cultural conflicts and assaults on the electoral process. They fear that Americans — left, right and center — have given up trying to understand or sympathize with one another.

[DS-The LA Times is doing the whole Democracy At Risk thing]