Should Congress play TV cop?

In the opinion-page article ``Will `Indecency' Cops Retire?'' Jan. 20, the author - who deplores Congress's attempt to purge indecency from radio and television - seems unable to grasp the need for high standards and principles by which to pattern our lives and set goals for ourselves.

She writes: ``In a free society, the people, not the government, make choices and set standards.'' But members of Congress are responding favorably to the people, polls, hearings, and to their constituents - this is the American government in action. I fail to see how the American Civil Liberties Union's stand is helpful to our country and our citizens. Surely it doesn't further a ``more perfect union,'' or the general welfare of the American people. Shirley R. Hanning, Norfolk, Va.

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