The debates in campuses and coffee shops still continue: Who is the greater hero, Rizal or Bonifacio? When I was in college, I was the staunch supporter of the thesis that Rizal indeed is the greater hero. It was my firm belief that '' the pen is mightier than the sword''. I believed then that it was the propaganda movement started by Dr. Jose Rizal that, in fact, inspired Bonifacio and all the Katipuneros to take up arms. Rizal's NOLI and FILI in fact, touched Bonifacio himself and moved him to take the role of the filibuster. Rizal was a complete Renaissance man, well-educated, cultured, well-traveled and with flair and sophistication, and showing class and savoir faire.
But when I was done with college and was finished with all those romantic interludes with literature and all, it started to dawn on me that Rizal was all vision and theories. It was Bonifacio who did the actual hard work, the real struggles. He lived a very difficult life, starting from his youth. Bonifacio had to support all his brothers and sisters when the siblings were orphaned at very young age. While Rizal was courting women of all shapes and races, Bonifacio was selling canes and fans to make both ends meet. Bonifacio worked hard as a laborer while Rizal was a spoiled younger son who was showered with care and affection by his parents, his elder brother, Paciano and adored by his many sisters.
Today, we celebrate Bonifacio Day and we need to reflect deeply that it is Bonifacio, who was wounded and scarred and ultimately executed by his own compatriots. Rizal was tried by the Spanish military and church authorities. His death was filled with honor and dignity. It was even dramatic and had all the ingredients of a telenovela. Bonifacio, on the other hand, faced the ignominy of having been betrayed by his own compatriots. He was cheated in a rigged election in the Tejeros Convention, charged with treason and killed without honor. His wife, Ka Oriang or Gregoria de Jesus was arrested and raped by his killers.
Rizal was all ideas without action. He denounced the Katipunan and refused to support the revolution or to lend the prestige of his name in the revolutionaries' own propaganda against Spain. He was enjoying his idyllic sojourn in Dapitan with the love of his life, Josephine Bracken, while Bonifacio was being haunted, harassed, and was living a harsh and difficult life. It was Bonifacio who saw action and was exposed to all the risks and hazards of life's many burdens and vicissitudes. Bonifacio was quite impulsive and reckless, lacked the reflective character of Rizal.
And so, today, after all these musings and reflections, I am inclined to conclude now, that we need both Bonifacio and Rizal. Rizal alone, indeed is all thoughts, all fictions and no action, no grounding on realities. But Bonifacio alone is all action without much thought, reckless and imprudent. Thus, we should combine the beautiful mind of Rizal, his passion for learning and his advocacy for education, and also, the dynamism, the energy and the aggressiveness of Ka Andres, the Great Plebeian, the hero of Tondo, the leader of Magdiwang whose very important life was wasted by the Magdalos of Cavite.
If we can all imbibe both the brilliance of classy Crisostomo Ibarra and the rugged patriotism of Elias, then the social cancer in our society today would at least be alleviated in its pains and recurring harshness.