You know how the old joke goes: &8220;So what is pornography?&8221; Answer: &8220;We&8217;ll know it when we see it.&8221;

While that line usually gets a good laugh when told publicly, it also reminds us that many morality issues, like politics, are &8220;local,&8221; as former Speaker of the House Tip O&8217;Neil might say.

Unfortunately, Congress is again hell-bent on attempting to legislate morality again. Despite an ever-growing list of &8220;big picture&8221; worries, Congress is set to debate lots of &8220;small picture&8221; issues presumably for political gains.

First, Congress wants to increase the fines TV and radio broadcasters will pay when they fail to follow national decency guidelines. While we have no empirical proof, we suspect most Americans would not put this in the top 10 (or even the top 50) problems facing this country.

Once again, Congress wants to ban flag burning. It would break our heart to see someone burn the American flag in protest, but in all our collective years, we&8217;ve never seen it happen. Is this a national problem or just something that looks good for voters?

Finally, Congress wants to amend our Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. Again, while we may personally not condone the homosexual lifestyle, from where we sit gay marriage does not seem an immediate threat to national security. Borders? Yes. Gays? No.

Ladies and gentlemen of Congress, let&8217;s keep our eyes on the ball and our minds focused on important &8212; not just politically advantageous &8212; issues.