Decisions

Over the weekend I went to the movies to see Star Trek. I'm an old time Trekkie from the dark ages, yet I do love this new incarnation of the story. The friendship between Kirk and Spock has always been the major point of the original Star Trek series and movies. It's great to see it continue with this new line.  Come on Kirk, did you really think Mr. Logical-And-Proper would not file a report? I mean, really!!

But that's not the most memorable part of this movie, at least not for me.

Cheif Engineer Scotty shows his independence when Captain Kirk orders him to do something he knows is wrong. Scotty is ordered to sign off on allowing torpedoes with unknown to be placed on the enterprise.  Knowing their engines are basically explosives just waiting to go "boom" at the wrong move, or if contaminated by the wrong energy, Scotty says he'd resign first.

Captain Kirk accepts his resignation.

The same thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago.

No torpedoes were involved, no unknown energy sources, nothing was going to explode. But I was told to do something that would inconvenience a number of people for no good reason other than the powers that be decided that's what should happen. I could not agree to do that.  I refused to follow the order, and I was out of a project I had worked on since last August. The new person steps in at the 11th hour and gets all the kudos for her hard work. But I wouldn't change my decision. I made the right choice. Nothing went boom, many of the people involved don't even know things could have been better for them. But I did not compromise, and I don't regret my decision.

For the record, Scotty was right too.