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Why did you elevate Picard and Sisko morally over Kirk or Janeway?

Actually all officers on Star Trek seem to be of high moral character, I can't think of one who isn't.

Both Kirk and Janeway were much less by-the-book. They had no compunction against violating the prime directive, making unscrupulous alliances, seducing young ensigns, or reading the Constitution to a planet of Nazis (or something like that) if they felt it furthered their (usually noble if misguided) goals.

I don't want to start a Trek debate on HN :) Alliances wrt Janeway are certainly questionable, but for both where they did deviate from the book it was always as you say for noble reasons. Breaking an unjust law is not morally wrong. Snowden broke laws for noble reasons. Is he a moral character? I think so.

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