It is easier to pass judgment on someone than to try to understand them.

Twenty-six years ago, my “second mom,” Patricia Youkers, taught me a valuable lesson. She told me not to be too quick to judge another individual until I walked five miles in that person’s shoes.

She was right, and I’ve never forgotten that lesson.

All of us can be Monday morning quarterbacks and say what someone should have done, because we have the luxury of time to look back and reflect. So, instead of trying to understand, we are critical and pass judgment.

Think of it another way: Say someone gets elected to public office and tries to expose the corruption and waste of tax dollars. What would be the reaction of tax-and-spend politicians?

They wouldn’t want to be exposed, and they wouldn’t want someone shining a light on the darkness in government.

So what would they do?

It is obvious to me that they would do everything in their power to discredit or otherwise stop that other politician — make that other politician look like an idiot in the public’s eye.

When I ran for public office in 2000, a mentor and friend warned me that when I met the other elected politicians, not to mention my personal beliefs — like that I am a Christian and that I believe in the Constitution. He said they would smile and shake my hand, but with their other hand they would be ready to stab me in the back.

He said not all were bad, but the bad ones would use the 3 B’s against me. They would try to bribe me to go along with the flow. If that failed, they would try to blackmail me. Lastly, if the first two were not successful, they would beat me, to discredit or make me look like a fool in the public’s eye.

I have critics. All of us do.

No matter which political party one belongs to, we may have differences, but we all share one common problem — the corruption of politicians in both parties.

Not all are bad, but I don’t turn a blind eye to the corruption in my own political party, and I will vote against that politician.