Longevity

I think that heroism can be put into action in only a few select ways.

Saving a damsel in distress from the terrible prison of an evil and perverted covetous king is the classic picture of what heroism is to most people.

But I guess the most heroic thing I can think of is doing something that is good and right when most surrounding people reject that hero and that deed. The reason it really is heroic is because most people would never call it heroic. Whatever the the rejected deed, it is probably something that most others can never accept or understand. It's heroic because it stands alone-it happens, in different ways, only every once in a while. It doesn't matter that it changes maybe a handful of people, it just matters that a change did happen.

I love that a hero can still be a hero even when they aren't alive anymore. If they leave behind something with substance, a mark that withstands the mockery and spurning of everyone against it, it is still understood by some. That's the part that matters. The longevity of the heroism.