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This is a great article. The list reflects what I and I'm sure many others do think about modern day society.

Susan: I also think this is a great column. Exactly on point!

FBI agents are college graduates; however, having a college degree doesn't make you a better police officer. Look at all the civil rights violations by the FBI since it was form in the 1920s, and those college graduates still have not learn a thing.

Los Angeles Police Chief William Parker was a college graduate and got a law degree; however, it seems that he use his law training to find ways around the law.

Even if you have a college degree, it is no guarantee that you will not violate people's rights nor prevent you from being bribe by street gangs/organized crime (particulary when college graduates are $10,000 to 20,000 dollars in the hole after graduation). A college educated police is still no match when it comes to standing up to Corporate America and saying that the police will not be a private force for the businessmen own use. It is also no guarantee that a college educate police force will take white-collar, corporate crime seriously like it does with street crime.

Police suck. The vast majority are actually undereducated, seeing as how almost all police departments have extremely low qualification standards, most only a high school diploma is required (I got a high school diploma in my sleep). In addition to this, most police officers become officers to right some wrong that occurred in their life, such as being picked on, or being unable to ward off bullies, and compensate for this by wearing a badge and carrying a gun later in life. In actuality, we do not need these types serving the public, rather, we need educated "normal" citizens, with an understanding of basic natural human rights. In the city I live in, police officers police with reckless abandonment. They arrest with no probable cause, use excessive force on the regular, and incite riots which could easily be prevented. I am not an uneducated person, I am a 22 year old, near college graduate (senior), pursuing a law degree after graduation in my criminal justice major. The reason why many people do not like police is because once they put on the badge and strap on the gun they assume a role of power, and no longer consider themselves citizens of the community, but all powerful law enforcers. The reality is, they would prevent more crime by becoming social workers, and targeting the problem at the root, which is always monetarily related. Lastly, police are no heroes, they get overpaid for a job they rarely do (protect and serve). Drugs are not a problem, unless the legislature makes it a problem, and violent crime has been on the decline since the 1990's despite what you think, or what the mass media has portrayed on law and order this season, which also means the need for less police. This is laughable since at the same time we are incarcerating at rates higher than ever before in history as crime rates decline. This is only a perpetuation of the prison industrial complex, which for those who don't know need to google. America needs to wake up and put its foot down. Stop pompous police NOW!

I appreciate your article and think you raise some pretty good points. But here is why the public generally has a problem:

Firefighters are your friend. they will unconditionally save your life without conducting any invetigation and never trample on constitutional freedoms or inalienable human rights. Every day these people put their lifes on the line.

Cops are different, and here is why:

1. In most instances, cops don't arrive at the scene while the crime is going on but arrive after the crime has occurred. By the time the cops arrive, the bad guy is gone and they just go through the same routine motions. Sure, there are those isolated examples where Jack Bauer stops the crime before it's about to happen or while it's in progress. but generally most cops will never discharge their firearm in their entire career.

2. Cops often talk down to you. Anyone here who has ever been pulled over knows exactly what i mean. Cops will say "You were driving way too fast in here. Didn't you know the speed limit was 55?" As if the answer to that question has any relevance. If someone is speeding just cite them and move on. A friend of mine was once beaten and raped, and after the cop arrived, the cop chastized her for dressing "like a slut." Newsflash: women who have just had their face pulverized and raped don't need a lecture. Be soothing and comforting to fragile victims. Firefighters don't talk down to a person they just rescued from a fire.

3. Education levels are irrelevant. If someone has a PhD or only a high school diploma has no bearing on the kind of person they are. I don't care if my local police can solve vector calculus equations, I just want them to possess the tact and wisdom to effectively do their jobs.

This is just my .02. I do appreciate all the hardwork the police do on a nightly basis.