I think a lot about how to balance being nice and accepting and fighting the status quo. Sometimes, it's best to keep the peace, but there gets to be a point at which we need the courage to make waves and enact change. I've thought of a way to look at the problem through Greek mythology. Since there are so many characters in classical mythology, they inevitably explore many different facets of human nature. Two gods contributed to humanity's use of fire, but each had a wildly different personality from the other.

Prometheus is, arguably, the greatest messiah of any mythology. The gods of Greek mythology generally do not care for humanity. They may take sides, but out of partisanship rather than compassion. But Prometheus created man and loved him. His brother Epimethus used up all the features- fur, scales claws, and so on- creating animals that humanity could have used to protect itself. So Prometheus defied Zeus two times to help his creations- first to give humans the better part of sacrifices, the second to give them fire. The second gets him tormented for hundreds of years as punishment- and as the god of foresight, Prometheus knew that this was going to happen. But he stole fire anyway.

But there is another figure in Greek mythology I admire. She doesn't make any great sacrifices, but also cares for humanity. Hestia, the goddess of the hearth and home, makes a gentle counterpart to Prometheus's defiance and sacrifices. She was foremost non-factional. The fireplace provides warmth to everyone, and doesn't favor anyone. As a result, Hestia has no alliances on Olympus- and also no enemies. If she has any alliance, it is to peace above all else. Hestia was one of the Twelve Olympians, but she gave up her spot since two other gods were vying for one seat.

There is a balance to be struck. Prometheus's courage is admirable, but not always appropriate. The sort of sacrifice he made needs huge payoffs. Sometimes, doing what you think is right but unpopular can hurt others more than it helps them. Adversities that can't be changed should usually be ignored. There is a value to tending to the hearth and carrying on.

However, Hestia is passive to a fault. She reflects the roles young women were expected to play in Greek society. Greek society was not particularly egalitarian. Perhaps she should have stayed as one of the twelve main gods. Peace isn't worth every price; yielding such a great amount of power is too much to pay in my view.

In some sense I am training to be a Hestia. Engineers don't usually take sides; our job is to objectively design a system to perform a certain task, and most of these tasks aren't terribly political While weaponry can get political very quickly, chemical refineries or tractors aren't. I kind of just want to help people regardless of who they are and stay out of fights. Everyone has intrinsic value as sentient beings, and I will always respect that.

But I like to imagine that in the right situation, I will take sides. I do not know what it would take, but there is a point at which I would become Prometheus. If the stakes are high enough, perhaps I will have the courage to steal from Zeus himself.