I think you misunderstood my intention. I was only saying that if you've only found yourself with your "butt in the seat", and never done any work on the other side of the table, you're hardly in a position to make an objective and informed conclusion about any justice system as a whole. It most certainly was not an attack on you personally, so I question why you would get so defensive about it.

My opinion is also not based upon patriotism. As a matter of fact, I think you'll find me to be one of the first to question decisions made in the name of emotional responses to stimulus or some sort of unwavering loyalty to a cause. My opinion is based on nearly a decade of work within judicial systems around the world that strive on a daily basis to uphold the values I mentioned in the post prior to last - even if they don't always manage to do so.

Out of curiosity though....how exactly does being a math teacher set your objectivity above that of anybody else?

I'm rather curious to hear how one's chosen profession makes them better or worse than something that is essentially a trait that someone either has or does not have. I, for example, am a business analyst with a specialization in Common Law judicial systems, and a quasi-programmer - but that doesn't make me think for a second that I'm more capable than anyone else at making objective decisions...at least not based on that