Ah, the Ewok in its natural habitat on the forest moon of Endor. Standing less than a meter tall, this primitive species inhabits a village in the treetops of the forest, and hunt for food on the forest floor. An Ewok's small stature and furriness can compel observers to either to marvel at the species' cuteness...

Or to scream in fury and question George Lucas' decision to put a bunch of teddy bears into the finale of the greatest movie trilogy of all time.

Ewoks have frequently been the target of many fans' hatred and anger. One can easily question the ability of a tribe of primitive, short, and furry creatures to defeat an entire legion of the Emperor's best troops. Or to dismiss them as a marketing ploy that shamelessly lures in youngsters. But to be perfectly honest, I don't mind Ewoks.

Yes, you heard that right. I don't hate Ewoks. I certainly don't find them cute and cuddly, and I most definitely do not wish to engage in a discussion of how it was logistically possible for our furry little friends to defeat an armored contingent of men without peripheral vision. They won; get over it. But I digress. I simply cannot hate Ewoks because they are part of the few who stood up to the oppressive Empire.

For over two decades, the Empire maintained its rule over the galaxy through superior firepower and coercion. It had superweapons, millions of troops, and advanced military technology. It walked all over entire planets with complete and utter disregard for their civilian populations. And what's the best way in which to ensure that it keeps doing so? If no one fights back.

And after two decades of the Imperials subduing populations of entire planets, the people (save for a pitiful little band of rebels) had become complacent, and the Empire had become arrogant. They landed on the forest moon of Endor, trampling on the moon's wildlife with their AT-ATs and their construction of a shield bunker. They claimed the moon for themselves, for the purpose of protecting a space station with the capabilities to destroy a planet -- a tool for further coercion, intimidation, and atrocities. The Empire assumed they could maintain this devil-may-care attitude and continue trod all over every population in the galaxy, but sooner or later, it was inevitable that someone would fight back.

Somebody did.

When their enemy had armored transports and blaster rifles, they fought back with spears and stones. They overwhelmed the enemy with sheer numbers, probably sustaining massive casualty rates. The Ewoks stood up to the Empire, despite being primitive, and managed to win. I would like to think that they did so for the sake of freedom. The Ewoks are the unlikely heroes who managed to turn the tide for the rebels.

Any species, population, or tribe that makes a stand against an evil empire and fights for their freedom will get my respect. And having a bunch of teddy bears do it made justice even sweeter. The Empire got the ultimate slap in the face when they took over a moon in order to protect their superweapon, and were ousted by a primitive group of short, furry creatures. It shows, in my opinion, that as Ronald Reagan once said in his first Inaugural Address,

No arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.

I think the above statement works for teddy bears too.

Yub nub!