Allusion to Harsh Times in another movie?

I mean, Little Children. Since HT is of primary importance for me, I summoned up my courage to post it here, not there ;)
In Little Children (2006), there is an ex-cop who quit after shooting a teenager in a mall by mistake and later, in one conversation, he complains of having had a PTSS and asks another guy something along the lines of, what do you think about Homeland Security? I thought it was a direct nod towards HT and that was interesting.