woke Joss Whedon didn't really understand what he had. now I've got that Firefly song stuck in my head! my brother would be pleased.

I've wondered about the failure of those 'Browncoats'. (interesting hybrid of "brownshirt" and "turncoat"). always seemed to me they lacked a compelling ideological purpose. resist the Alliance? independence? unification? valuable goals, yes, but are they noble? our Founders wove a spiritual purpose through their call for freedom. Our Declaration is a compelling purpose - a "why."

our Founders understood that even God gives His children freedom. and that we might behave badly. but though His gift of free-will grants us enough rope to hang ourselves with, ;) that same rope is enough to also bind evil (first within ourselves). they understood that a top-down, pre-packaged "good and evil" (a socialist utopia) is itself an evil -- it denies the individual the discovery of the good, the choosing of God, the realization of unknown, personal potential.

but self-government could never be attempted without Jesus' teaching "God is no respecter of persons"; all Men are created equal is Jesus teaching writ into law -- we are literally spiritual brethren. in the grand scheme, there is no us vs them.

Firefly never overcame that 'us vs them' theme -- in fact, tended to dehumanize the 'enemy'. the problem, even in a fictional plot, is you have nowhere to go. without a larger (spiritual) purpose, the endpoint can only be total annihilation of the 'enemy.' that's why Islamists, Globalist, Leftists all seek total global domination -- they have no coherent spiritual framework, thus no alternative path.

I've been thinking a lot about the spiritual techniques Ghandi and MLK used to "mis-behave." for MLK it was a bridge. for Ghandi, a Salt Mine. I am praying the Father show us the way, and give us the courage, strength, wisdom, discipline, and unity to take the path He reveals.

this one always gets me: the Salt Mines March https://youtu.be/yrHNig2aIjQ