What golden years? California retirees lament the 'venom' coursing through American politics
LOS ANGELES — The Leisure World and Laguna Woods retirement villages envelop you in tranquility from the moment you enter their gates.
Single-story houses sit low to the ground, their facades partially hidden behind Moroccan-style screens and tropical plants.
Residents old enough to have lived through a dozen presidents get their morning exercise by hitting the links on flawless green golf courses and working up a sweat in communal gyms while chatting with friends.
Some are staunch Republicans and others are equally devoted Democrats. The factions don't agree on much. But on this they are unified: It's hard to enjoy a carefree life of leisure during a turbulent midterm election season that feels like a stress test for civil society itself.
Phil Friedman can hardly recognize the country he served when he was in the Navy in the early 1960s.
"I used to think that I knew what was going on in this country, but I don't anymore," says Friedman, a resident
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