The Responsibility Project

Liberty Mutual

Responsibility. What’s your policy?™

Blog

Provocative articles and stories about responsibility.

New Boy

Posted on May 15, 2008 by Kathy McManus Comments (0)

We all know the uneasy feeling of being the “new kid”—at school…at work…in a group…in a different city or country. Gradually, in each circumstance, the anxiety begins to fade, a new normal emerges, and life moves along. Read full article »
Fight Club Junior

Posted on May 12, 2008 by Kathy McManus Comments (3)

When two dogs are in a cage to fight each other, it’s illegal. When two children are in a cage to fight each other, it’s part of the fastest growing sport in America: “ultimate fighting.” Read full article »
America’s Worst Mom?

Posted on May 8, 2008 by Kathy McManus Comments (13)

Mothering without smothering. That’s the responsible balance Lenore Skenazy was seeking when she recently allowed her 9-year-old son to ride the New York City subway alone for the first time. Read full article »
To Catch a Thief

Posted on May 6, 2008 by Kathy McManus Comments (9)

A stranger steals your personal property. Instead of reporting the theft to authorities, you confront the suspect yourself. Your possessions are returned. You bypass the inconvenience of a police investigation and court appearances, and the offender goes without punishment. Read full article »
Cash for Grades

Posted on May 1, 2008 by Kathy McManus Comments (10)

Education opens many doors. But should the main one be at the bank? School districts throughout the country are increasingly paying students for coming to class, taking tests, and improving their scores as part of controversial incentive programs known as “cash for grades.” Read full article »
Morality Bites

Posted on April 24, 2008 by Kathy McManus Comments (25)

We’ve watched all things personal undergo very public makeovers on reality TV—our noses, our houses, our cars and jobs and spouses. But something more fundamental may have quietly fallen victim to a makeover as well: our moral identities. Read full article »
Tattletales

Posted on April 22, 2008 by Kathy McManus Comments (7)

If you knew that all of your interactions with people were being publicly scrutinized—your (rude) driving…your (cheap) restaurant tipping…your (gasp!) dating behavior—would you act more responsibly? Big Brother isn’t watching. But small websites are. Read full article »
Father’s Day

Posted on April 16, 2008 by Kathy McManus Comments (1)

Responsibility encompasses a lot of inevitable territory: family, friends, job, and country. But should responsibility extend to forgiveness? Giving second chances? Seizing the moment before it’s lost forever? Read full article »
Going Postal

Posted on April 14, 2008 by Kathy McManus Comments (4)

Eric Wills has gone postal in a provocative new way. Wills is a mailman in St. Petersburg, Florida, with 480 people on his route. The mail he delivers to them—from high-end catalogues to bundles of bills—speaks volumes. So, as it turns out, does the condition of their yards. Read full article »
Shot Through the Heart

Posted on April 10, 2008 by Kathy McManus Comments (8)

Like most competitive athletes, in-line speed-skater Corey Gahan hoped fierce determination and hard training would give him the edge he needed to fulfill his dream of becoming the best in his sport. But unlike most competitive athletes, Corey Gahan’s father insisted on supplying that winning edge, regularly injecting his son with steroids and human growth hormone, the same illegal substances at the heart of the ongoing major league baseball scandal. Read full article »