I am amazed. By now I’m sure everyone is at least somewhat aware of all the flooding in Iowa. This is a pretty big deal. I’ve read that the flood levels are high enough that they’re hitting people who aren’t in high risk areas at all and aren’t likely to have flood insurance. Apparently this isn’t likely to be over yet either and more flooding is expected in other areas.

Normally I wouldn’t bring something like this up but there has been some heavy criticism of Barack Obama because he went to fill sand bags in Illinois in preparation for more flooding. Check it out:

His actions have spurred hatred and cynicism among those who already don’t like him. There are claims that he’s pandering. Apparently leading by example and helping those in need is now considered pandering. Then there are claims that he was only there for a photo op. According to an ABC News blog he filled at least 15 sandbags. This may not be enough for those that think the only way he can help is to spend 60 hours a week for a month filling bags but helping out in this way for even an hour can make a big difference. It can especially make a difference when your presence brings more attention to the issue and adds morale support to those in the area. While getting his photo taken in this situation probably does benefit his campaign, there’s a good reason for that. There are even more outrageous claims made to the detriment of Obama’s character but they’re not worth going through one by one.

It appears that we live in such a cynical world that even when a person is being directly helpful we can still find ways to try and tear them down. What’s the alternative to Obama’s actions? Do nothing? Sit back and tell the press when they ask you that those people are proud and can help themselves so there’s no reason for you to try and obtain more help for them as McCain has done? McCain was sitting in at a fund raiser in California while all this was going on and didn’t even have the decency to mention the issue on his website where Obama put a link right on the opening page that went to the donations section of the American Red Cross site. Or, instead of doing what Obama is doing, politicians could follow Bush’s example and just fly over the area like Bush did during Katrina. That helps immensely, right? Katrina was handled effectively, right?

Seriously, lets all take a step back and question our own cynicism. I’ve been guilty of it myself on numerous occasions but I no longer think it’s worth it. Sure, you might get burned from time to time but the alternative is to live in a world where you have to constantly be paranoid that everyone is out to dupe you.