I hear what you guys are saying...

If Freedom is a thread shared by everyone, it's still not the only reason for watching the show.

I just figures everyone on the crew got on the ship to get away from something oppressive.

Even Kaylee and Wash had a better life on Serenity than anywhere else...

Jayne, if the Johnny Cash song has any truth to it, is now living the sweet life.

Zoe, for her it makes sense to follow the best damn captain in the verse...

Book met Kaylee and he knew this ship was all right for his journey.

Together away from bad situation and together as a familly.

You know, Freedom...

To me freedom is making my own choices in an atmosphere free of oppression. That's why I like Mal's character. He won't knuckle under to the Alliance. To me the Alliance represents what happens when our precious democratic freedoms are all gone sometime in the not too distant future and most of our decisions are made for us, not by us by the a wealthy aristocracy and multinational corporations. Already they are trying to change our behaviors and influence our attitudes through the media outlets they control.
We just have to hope that in the long run "We will rise again". As Mal said, "May have been the losing side, still not convinced it was the wrong one."

Everyone gets something different out of Firefly (and Whedon's other shows for that matter). It strikes a chord with each of us for one reason or another.

The reason a person enjoys the show is a subjective one, and it would be pretentious to suggest that one reason is better than another.

Welcome to the site, by the way!