The season finale was a fantastic study on the perils of short-sighted desires for "peace" in the face of a dangerous enemy. Through the election, a majority of the survivors elected a president who put all of their eggs in one basket and made them sitting ducks, by settling a planet where there would be a semblance of "normal life", but no way out if the Cylons returned -- which of course they eventually did. If they had stayed on the ships, life would be harder, but a lot safer -- they'd be able to fight effectively or run away (hyperjump) if they found themselves in trouble again, plus they'd have been able to continue their long-shot search for "Old Earth", providing a better hope for the future, albeit one with delayed grafication.
Now, however, the season has ended with the Cylons returning not to destroy mankind (they have been taken over by their own internal factions who want a different goal), but in order to "protect" mankind from itself, in an "overseer" role that looks exactly like totalitarianism. It's going to be an interesting third season next year, and will probably have a lot to say about "nanny states" and oppressive "do-goodism", while covering issues of personal freedom and insurrection.
Also, there's the Tyrol speech taken from Mario Savio:
"There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part, you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies on the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!"
When he made the speech the Cylons hadn't invaded yet so the machine must mean the Baltar presidency. I assume the workers were building a presidential palace. After all, a player like Baltar can't live forever on a stuffy ship.
Did you catch the "There you go again" line from part I? One of the producers (IIRC) has said that Reagan was one of his heroes. And the "Go frack yourself" line after the debate was an homage to Dick Cheney!
If they had stayed on the ships, life would be harder, but a lot safer -- they'd be able to fight effectively or run away (hyperjump) if they found themselves in trouble again, plus they'd have been able to continue their long-shot search for "Old Earth",
I though that it was interesting to see how nasty conditions were on New Caprica after only a year. The Colonials would have been better off aboard the ships of the fleet. To make matters worse, even the military had fallen apart. Galactica and Pegasus barley had enough personnel left to make FTL jumps. Admiral Adama commented that they couldn't even keep the CAP up anymore.
This is certainly turning into quite a cautionary tale for the West.
it must be noted that these "kinder, gentler" cylons remain religious fanatics intent on following the will of their one-true-god in conquering the messy and diverse humans.
this could be seen as an allegoric depiction of the islamic goal of dominating all of the Earth, humiliating all non-muslims, and forcing all to submit to Allah and/or the global caliphate.
it could also be seen more broadly, as an indictment against the many flavors of aggressive True Believers who have, in cases beyond count, striven to impose static order on the healthy anarchy of humanity.