Tag!

First it was the curse of two left feet that rendered me an often sought out target on the playground.
Then there are dim memories from college.
Full grown adults recapturing a lost childhood without much physical exertion - phone tag.
Now into the full-blown adulthood (with children) I find myself again being "tagged" - blog style.

This one comes from one of those college-era phone taggers - David A. Zimmerman.

At least some exertion is required, albeit a mental one: If I had a hundred bucks free and clear, how would I use it redemptively?

My first reaction is to point out a possible grammatical error and rewrite this as: "If I had a hundred bucks free and clear, how would I use it? Redemptively?"

To which I can rapidly reply "Yes," and be done with the matter. Since I know that the Zimmer-man would not let shoddy grammar slip by unnoticed, I must consider the wording carefully.

Possibilities:
One hundred bucks free and clear. I think that is the best way to treat them don't you. Let them roam free across wide-open land enjoying the clean, clear air. If you are from Florida you may try to oppose the movement of these particular bucks.

Accounting for the possibility that the Zimmer-man was referring to a unit of currency - sometimes called a "buck" in the parlance of out times - I will endeavor upon a more thoughtful response.

If I had one hundred units of primary currency to use in a redemptive manner I would first have to consider the greatest way to make an impact: a sprinkling scattered across a wide ranging area or a concentrated impact focused on a singular entity. However, as I ponder this, I consider the possibility that both result from the proper singular action. I choose
OLPC.

I think the end result has the potential for an tremendously life-altering experience for an individual, while creating a ripple throughout the rest of the world. This is not an homage to the laughable selection of "You" as Time's Person of the Year. Rather it is a belief in the ability of individuals to impact change in their world when given access to the appropriate tools.

Is this redemptive? Is the act of a white, upper-middle class male providing one of the voiceless majority in a third world country the opportunity to engage the global community in debate
redemptive? I believe it is.