I am honored to welcome as a sponsor of this site The Responsibility Project from Liberty Mutual. I agree with them that "the more people think and talk about responsibility, the more the world becomes a better place" and I am very impressed with -- and inspired by -- their thoughtful website about responsible choices, with films, blog posts, resources, and community-building on a wide range of important topics. Is it responsible or irresponsible parenting to allow a nine-year-old to ride the subway alone? Are tattletale websites a way to ensure accountability or a descent into gossip and snarkiness?
I especially love the "what's your policy" section of the website, which asks visitors a series of questions about what responsible choices are for parents, employers, teachers, students, neighbors, pet owners, athletes, consumers, doctors, politicians, and a range of other categories that include and overlap us all. Each visitor to the site can think through a range of issues and assemble his or her own list of policies. You will be able to see mine as it develops -- for example, I said "yes" to the policy that a responsible boss does not multitask when talking to an employee (a good reminder that I do not always live up to this one myself).
When I began the first Movie Mom website almost 13 years ago, it was with the idea of not just helping parents make responsible choices about media for their children but about encouraging parents to use the movies and television shows the families viewed together as a starting point for important conversations about how the characters on screen and how we in our lives make our choices and deal with the consequences. It is a privilege to partner with Liberty Mutual and the Responsibility Project in their effort to help all of us think about what it means to make responsible choices.
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A "Reduced Liability Project" for an insurance company is not a bad idea. ;-)
It helps them and helps others as well! Your site does encourage informed, responsible viewing. More parents should read your movie reviews before seeing the movies they take their kids to or allow their kids to rent. The percentage of middle schoolers watching R rated movies is unconscionable.
Parental responsibility is one of the greatest issues our society fails to address, and is a major reason why juvenile and young adult crime is growing. Very few elected officials will dare risk the ire of that biggest of voting blocks, parents, by sponsoring legislation requiring them to be more accountable for their children. Think of the teens dropped off at malls so mom or dad doesn't have to deal with them. I was proud of my local mall corporation (who would have thought?) for instructing their security personnel to turn away teens who had arrived at the mall without parental supervision. There are so many parents who will dump on others to watch there kids like this. When kids don't do their work in school and parents get calls from teachers, work usually still does not get done. Who should be held responsible? The "No Child Left Behind" law doesn't hold parents responsible. It holds the schools responsible instead. Talk about lawmakers avoiding their responsibility on an issue!
I am all for any approach that can help improve responsibility in our society. Obama brought up the issue of parental responsibility in one campaign speech: talking to your child's teachers, making sure your child does his homework, not letting him hang out on the streets. In response, he received roars of approval from his audience. No other presidential candidate has addressed the issue of parental responsibility. It is time for our society to do something about it, and Liberty Mutual's and your websites are good additions to the movement.
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