As a non-US citizen, I've had similar experiences where I was taken apart and asked some more questions by border patrol. However none of those experiences, although very similar to yours, came over as unnecessary harassment. I don't quiet understand why you would be 'terrified' crossing the border if you have all your shit together, which it seems you have.
The people "whose educational attainments have qualified them to sit behind a desk stamping passports" were simply doing their job and from what you described they did it without causing more inconvenience for you than necessary.
Like some others commented, if you don't like to abide by the rules of your new country of residence, nobody is forcing you to be there. Oh, and downplaying other people's intellectual abilities does come across quiet snobbish :)
The people "whose educational attainments have qualified them to sit behind a desk stamping passports" were simply doing their job and from what you described they did it without causing more inconvenience for you than necessary.
Like some others commented, if you don't like to abide by the rules of your new country of residence, nobody is forcing you to be there. Oh, and downplaying other people's intellectual abilities does come across quiet snobbish :)