That scenario is a predictable clash between a smart-ass and a rarified authoritarian personality.
Asking questions is an assertion of authority. Asking questions affords petit bureaucrats and persons of low social status a sense of relative importance. Responding to a petit bureaucrat's questions, regardless of how inane, in a manner which suggests his/her efforts are unimportant or annoying is an antagonizing challenge.
Customs agents and traffic cops, etc., are petit bureaucrats who can cause one some degree of aggravation or grief, so it's best to avoid playing silly games with them.
AND, when a terrorist, drug smuggler or gun runner makes it into the country, you right wing turds blame Obama, liberals, progressives and Democrats...TOO SOFT on terror.
Your definition of 'relative importance' is ignorant, but it is consistent with your 'ilk'.
Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.
Oscar Wilde