If Barbara Walters were a serious journalist — and to anyone who takes issue with my assertion that she is not, I have two words for you: Jersey Shore — she would have named as the most fascinating person of 2009: The Navy SEALS who shot the Somali pirates.

But because she isn’t, she didn’t.

I have been reading more about the shooting of those three pirates by Navy Seals as I ponder the future of Congress.

It occurs to me that if Congress were serious about improving any American policies — and it seems they are about as serious as a Barbara Walters interview with Lady Gaga — they would adopt the Shooting Somali Pirates Principal.

Let me explain this principal: Government’s job is to do for us, the private citizens, the things we cannot do for ourselves.

Like shooting Somali pirates.

The story is still inspiring, even 20 months later. Pirates attacked a ship named the Maersk Alabama, and took the captain, Richard Phillips hostage. The pirates and the captain ended up in a lifeboat, which ran out of gas, and was being towed by a naval destroyer, the USS Bainbridge. During the standoff, some Navy SEALs parachuted into the Indian Ocean and used inflatable rafts to get to the Bainbridge. A few nights later, with three pirates holding a gun on the captain, three SEAL snipers simultaneously fired their rifles — in the dark, on rough waters. And three pirates fell dead. The captain escaped unharmed.

The mission was a success for many reasons, but mostly because of the skill and training of Navy SEALs.

But the mission was also a success of government in this way: Government was doing something that we, as individuals cannot do for ourselves.

Me, I’d love to shoot Somali pirates in the head. Lots of Americans probably share that desire. But we would have to buy a big boat, lots of fuel, and a very accurate rifle. Then we would need to to travel thousands of miles across the ocean — without getting lost and with nowhere to stop to ask for directions — looking out for hurricanes, big ships and other hazards. Then we’d have to get close enough for a shot in the dark.

Virtually all us — to say the obvious — when it comes to shooting Somali pirates, would, on our own, fail.

But government — particularly the branch of government that includes Navy SEALs — can do it well.

Members of Congress — both the new ones and the old ones who survived last month’s election — would do well to keep the Shooting Somali Pirates Principal in mind next month when the new session begins.

There are lots of things that desperately need done in our country that we as individuals cannot do them ourselves. At the top of that list: A long-term energy solution. Because gas prices are not near $4 per gallon, and because the Middle East is comparatively peaceful, we’ve stopped demanding that Congress lead the way to a new energy economy, one that relies on wind, solar power and other renewable energy sources.

But if we could find a way to replace all of the oil we buy with energy products made in the USA, think of how much money that would add to our economy.

And we could do that.

But we, as individuals cannot do that on our own. We need government to lead the way — and yes at times get out of the way. And I think it can be done without crippling mandates or burdensome taxes.

Can Congress do it?

A half-century ago, a Democratic Congress and a Republican President — just a couple of years after one of Congress’s worse contributions to U.S. history, McCarthyism — worked together to build the interstate highway system.

Sure, it was not perfect. It took longer and cost more than expected. But I can leave my house, and within minutes be on a network of four-lane roads that can take me efficiently to virtually any place in the U.S.

Congress did that.

The question is: Can this Congress do something that substantial?

I believe they can. I am not so sure they will.