"It seems to me that when we call someone a hero, we are saying that they have acted in a dangerous or hard situation in a way in which we would hope that we would be able to act, if the situation arose, regardless of whether that was our job or not."
Good, McG. Something I've heard a few times over the years, don't know who might have said it first: an idol is someone we look at, and diminish ourselves, thinking we can never be like that; a hero shows us what we can be.