After the over-reaching government ruins an entire planet with their good intentions (the government researcher cries "People need to know, we meant it for the best", just before one of their creation, the Reavers, kills her), the heroes discover the secret, and try to broadcast it to the galaxy. Capt Mal Reynolds says, "Sure as I know anything, I know this - they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, ten? They'll swing back to the belief that they can make people... better. And I do not hold to that. So no more runnin'. I aim to misbehave."
And a conversation between the government Operative (an assassin), and our hero...
The Operative: It's not my place to ask. I believe in something greater than myself. A better world. A world without sin.
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: So me and mine gotta lay down and die... so you can live in your better world?
The Operative: I'm not going to live there. There's no place for me there... any more than there is for you. Malcolm... I'm a monster. What I do is evil. I have no illusions about it, but it must be done.
"Half of writing history is hiding the truth."
Teacher (at a school, obviously beholden to the evil overbearing government, the Alliance: "The Central Planets formed the Alliance. Ruled by an interplanetary parliament, the Alliance was a beacon of civilization. The savage outer planets were not so enlightened and refused Alliance control. The war was devastating, but the Alliance's victory over the Independents ensured a safer universe. And now everyone can enjoy the comfort and enlightenment of our civilization."
I just can’t reconcile the libertarian themes of Firefly with the uber-liberal director of today - other than that he may have developed an intense need for the approval of his peers.