Why do some Americans seem to want to rush to judgement?

The tendency to make a snap decision about what happened and who should be held accountable ranges from the shooting of a black teenager in Florida to an alleged affair involving the former head of the world’s most powerful “intelligence” agency, the CIA. Armed with precious few facts, a growing number of Americans want instant action.

Have we lost faith in the value of thorough investigation and the safeguards that come from a proven legal system?

Did water-boarding Muslim extremists and locking people up in Guantanamo without trials set the stage for an impatient call for instant “justice” in this country?

We hope not.

Less than a year ago, Trayvon Martin, 17, was shot and killed by Neighborhood Watch coordinator George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla. The 28-year-old Zimmerman had tried unsuccessfully to become a police officer and spent a lot of time “keeping an eye” on his neighborhood. His armed surveillance led to a deadly confrontation with Martin.

A cry went out for an arrest and a murder charge from segments of the public before an investigation was complete. Zimmerman now awaits trial on a second-degree murder charge and the facts will be tested in court.

More recently — and on the 11th anniversary of the deadly attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon — the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya was attacked. Two members of the U.S. consulate and two ex-Navy seals were killed.

Once again, a portion of the American public wanted a rush to judgement. The cries for “justice” came before the smoke from the burning embassy even cleared.

An investigation into precisely what happened in Libya began immediately and continues today. The probe involves America’s intelligence agencies, the FBI and the U.S. State Department. Undoubtedly, it also involves help from foreign officials on and off the record inside Libya.

It takes time to gather all the facts.

Of course it takes much less time to jump to conclusions.

Which brings us to the latest scandal to hit the news, the apparent affair between CIA director and retired Army Gen. David Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell. Petraeus has resigned his post at the CIA and admits to the affair.

He’s 60 and she’s 40. He’s powerful, athletic and charming. She’s smart and attractive. They spent months together as she gathered information and interviews for her book, “All In: The Education of General David Petraeus.”

The resignation of the general comes on the heels of an FBI investigation that stemmed from a complaint about harassing emails from Broadwell that were received by another attractive female and friend of the Petraeus family, Jill Kelley.

Wandering hearts are not uncommon. We shouldn’t be shocked.

And we shouldn’t fall victim to wild speculation that somehow this entire affair was an elaborate setup to keep Petraeus from testifying to Congress about his knowledge of the attack of the embassy in Benghazi. He’s going to testify.

The FBI was careful not to reveal its investigation once Petraeus became a key player because it didn’t want to sound the alarm before the facts were known. Some people are unhappy the investigation didn’t come to light before the Nov. 6 election.

Let them be unhappy.

Facts always outweigh speculation. Facts result in decisions that lead to justice. It takes time, but history has proven time is on our side.