Five things I learned from this election

Maybe you"ve heard that we have a new presidentor president-elect, as someone at the office reminded me. For many of us, the election of Barack Obama is a sign that we now can get on with our lives. The never-ending campaign is finally over. Well, some people don"t want it to end.



I"m not going to share anything earth-shattering in this blog about the election and its ramifications. Obama and his newly elected cohorts are to be rewarded with a weak economy and two war fronts. They have their work cut out
for them, and an energized electorate that expects some changes. I don"t envy what lies before them.


Outside all of the punditry and political handicapping that is taking place on the 24-hour news channels and AM talk
shows all over this country, I do have five observations that might be relevant to metal fabricators:

1. The young people that made such an impact on this presidential election stand to make the same sort of impact on your business. Exit polls reveal that people under 30 made up 18 percent of all voters. If you watched any of the postelection coverage, you could see that those young faces in Grant Park in Chicago celebrating the Obama victory were representative of a large segment of his voters; about 66 percent of all young voters went with Obama. These are children who have grown up used to technology, parents and teachers catering to them, and working in a multicultural environment. When they speak, they think they should be heard. Some may look upon it as a sense of entitlement, and they may be right; however, that"s not going to change things. These young workers can be an asset to any company, but they won"t respond to the autocratic style of leadership embraced in many small businesses.



2. I don"t like spending time discussing politics because I fear for my life. It seems increasingly today people would rather bludgeon—verbally and sometimes with a hammer, I fear—someone else with a different opinion
   than participate in a simple discussion. But I do want to point out that a Democrat-dominated Congress doesn"t
   necessarily mean that Nancy Pelosi"s likeness will be added to Mount Rushmore and Rush Limbaugh is going to be hauled off to a weight clinic/internment camp. In a Nov. 5 Web cast for members of the National Association of Manufacturers, Bernadette Budde, a senior vice president, Business-Industry Political Action Committee, noted that one-fifth of the Democrats in Congress probably fall under the Blue Dog Democrat label. This bloc likely will join with Republicans on many matters of fiscal responsibility. At least, that"s what many are hoping for.



3. People that post comments to political stories scare me. I hope someone or some agency is tracking these crackpots in my town. Shouldn"t proof of sanity be required before freedom of speech is granted? I liked it when editors selected letters to run in the next day"s newspaper. Ah, the good ol" days.



4. I think the people are ready to move forward with the completion of the election. The stock market took a bit of
   a dive on Wednesday, but that followed a big rally on Tuesday. People can get back to debating the existence of Bigfoot rather than attacking people on newspaper Web sites.



5. If you are a business owner and the election didn"t go the way you wanted, consider educating people. People
   during the NAM Webcast said that 55 percent of voters wanted more information on economic matters from their
   employers. If they understand what candidates or a piece of legislation means to the business they work for, they might change the way they think.

As a whole, I do enjoy presidential elections. The peaceful transition of power is something that should never be taken for granted, especially in light of how many countries in this world can"t seem to get that right. I"m sure angry e-mailers across the Internet can agree with that point as well.