My heroes have always been.... well, not thugs
If authoritarians are your heroes, you have faulty priorities. Authoritarians, such as presidents, LEOs, or those in the military, may occasionally act in heroic ways, but it is always in spite of their career choices, not because of them.
The act of doing what they are paid to do (with stolen money) does not make them "heroes". Especially not in the cases where their acts would be considered a "crime" - aggression - if done by you or me. In fact, I would say that anything they do "on the job" is automatically disqualified from consideration as "heroic", even if the same act "off-duty" would be. It is simply their duty.
Heroes do not brutalize people who fail to obey counterfeit "laws". Heroes do not attack people. Heroes earn respect; never demand it. Heroes do not do the dirty work of the state. Heroes do not steal money from anyone. Heroes do not bomb wedding parties or hospitals. Heroes do not ever obey orders or "laws" that are wrong. And heroes do not excuse or enable those who do.
Instead, heroes stand up for what is right, even in the face of "the law". Heroes do what is right no matter what the public sentiment may be, or what the "legal" consequences are. Heroes don't shrink from calling evil "evil".
Humans are fallible. Select heroes at your own risk. Realize, however, that certain traits are never heroic. An authoritarian outlook being one of the most basic of those.
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