The continuing relevance of Dr. Jose P. Rizal to our nation
Dateline: City of Alexandria, Egypt. Today, as we enjoy the city that Alexander The Great built, we remember our national hero. And as we are about to proceed to Rome, to Fatima, Lourdes, France and to Assisi and Prague, we think of Dr. Jose Rizal who used to travel all over Europe and in Asia and the Americas, and contemplate his continuing relevance to the nation and to all our people. With all due respect to others who believe that the greater hero is the Katipunan Supremo, Ka Andres Bonifacio, or even Heneral Luna, this writer holds the view that it is Dr. Jose Rizal who personifies the best and also the worst of us, Filipinos. Thus, he deserves to stand tall in our esteem and respect.
First of all, no other Filipino who ever lived, past or present, could equal, much less surpass the scope, breadth and complexity of Rizal's talents and gifts. He was not only an accomplished doctor and ophthalmologist. He was a brilliant writer, essayist, poet, composer, satirist, painter, graphic artist, and musician. He was also a sportsman, an expert in swords and pistol. He was a sculptor, a landscape artist, a botanist, zoologist, and agriculturist. He was a world traveler and a lover. Above all, he was a novelist who used his NOLI and FILI as the main medium of propaganda against the Spanish friars and military conquistadores.
Second, Rizal left the Filipinos a very important legacy on the vital importance of learning and education. Rizal was a voracious reader and a very dedicated researcher. He believed that '' the pen is mightier than the sword'' and that whilst he has never killed an enemy unlike Bonifacio and Luna, his relentless propaganda, has brought too much anguish, bitterness and humiliation on our Spanish oppressors. The damage inflicted by Rizal was far greater and more lethal than the pistol and cannons of General Antonio Luna as well as the sword and bolo of Gat Andres.
Third, Rizal was a restless traveler. He went to so many countries even travelling by boat in long and perilous voyages all over the world. He was an Indio who hobnobbed with the insulares and the penisulares in Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Greece, and many other countries in Europe and in the Americas and Asia. Rizal has shown the world that the Filipinos are civilized people and not man-eating cannibals. Rizal showed the world that the Filipinos are educated, cultured, and ready to be recognized among the respectable people in the international family of nations.
Fourth, Rizal was brave, daring, fearless, and firm. He was neither afraid of the Spanish Guardia Civil nor of the powerful friars that he strongly denounced and condemned in his NOLI and FILI. Rizal, it is true, never led an army nor commanded a platoon or battalion of soldiers. But his writings have awakened the top echelons of political leaders in Spain who were intentionally kept in the dark by the scheming, greedy, and capricious governor generals and the high priests of the religious orders who plundered our nation and ravaged our women. Rizal stood up to the rulers not by might but by right. He was thus eliminated because Rizal has moved to action so many hitherto indifferent Indios.
Fifth, Rizal loved his family. He adored his mother, and highly respected his father. Rizal admired his elder brother, the patriot, Paciano and showered his sisters with attention, love and affection. Sixth, the life of Rizal was very dramatic. His early years were dramatic. His academic accomplishments were dramatic. His travels were dramatic. His love life was dramatic. Even his death was replete with drama. Today, we need to be inspired by Rizal's examples. He was indeed the greatest Malayan who ever lived. There is no one, not even Recto who could be as brilliant as Rizal. There is no one, not even Balagtas who could write so poignant a poem as Mi Ultimo Adios. There is simply no other who excelled as exceedingly amazing as Rizal. He is very much relevant today, in this era of ''copy paste'' mediocrity and selfie selfie self-centeredness of today's generation. We need to learn and relearn Rizal in our lives. There is no other who matters most.
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