Quote:

---

Originally posted by AURaptor:
Wouldn't that be more of a Libertarian Browncoat ?

Please, don't tie Firefly in w/ the politics. It only ruins it for me. And I'll NEVER attend anything remotely connected w/ Kerry. Firefly or not.

Perhaps this should be redirected to the real world discussions section, and forgotten.

You know, most good science fiction--hell, most good fiction of any kind--is about the real world, in metaphorical form. Joss clearly means that to be the case, not just in FF but in Buffy and Angel as well. Of course, you are welcome not to post in or read discussions that don't interest you; but I hardly think that "general discussion" threads have to exclude references to the relationship between FF as a story (about browncoat resistance to overcentralized authority), and the real world, which inevitably includes politics.

As for the Libertarian/Republican distinction, Libertarians are much more extreme in their anti-government sentiments. The traditional GOP position (prior to the takeover by right-wing evangelicals) reflected a Jeffersonian view--small government (not non-existent, as the Libertarians would have it), minimally involved in people's lives, with governance focused at the local level rather than in a unified federal system. If Firefly had had time to mature, I wonder if we wouldn't have seen some interesting stories about successful forms of local government. Well, maybe we already did: "Heart of Gold" is a good story about two kinds of rule, one of which is patriarchal, cruel and authoritarian, the other of which is matriarchal, kind and inclusive. We know which side that episode came down on. . . .

"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle. . . ."