Rizal on his 150th anniversary By DR.

FLORANGEL ROSARIO BRAID June 18, 2011, 2:26am Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines Cultural presentations, art exhibits, TV campaigns, tours retracing Rizals steps in various parts of the country, a stamp design and a fun-run contest, restoration of Rizals manuscripts these were among the activities that had been lined up to celebrate the 150th anniversary of our national hero. The activities dramatized his genius, courage, and patriotism. Historical researcher Isidro Escare Abeto in his book, Rizal, the Immortal Filipino, (1984), has documented the impact of his legacy, highlighting some of the relevant quotations that have significant implications on our national life. I have chosen the following as they provide insights into Rizals value system, his passion and ideals, and the choices he had throughout his brief but meaningful existence. Association: The spirit of tolerance ought to prevail. The individual should give way to the welfare of society. Thrift, thrift, thrift, seriousness and equal justice for all. These are my admonitions. (To members of La Solidaridad, 1889) Citizen of the World: When mankind shall become enlightened, when all people become free, when there shall be neither tyrants nor slaves, when justice shall rule and men shall become citizen of the world, the cult of science alone shall remain. (El Filibusterismo, 1891) Decentralized government: In view of lack of rapid communications, the life of the towns would be paralyzed if the government resided in only one hand and sole will. (Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, 1891) Education as a right: It is the duty of everyone to seek perfection, a desire to cultivate his intelligence. Through education and work, they could have a personality of their own. (El Filibusterismo, Marifesto, 1896) Freedom: The government needs a free press. A free press will make the government know the throbs of public opinion. (La Solidaridad, 1889) Indolence: If indolence exists, it exists only as the offspring of ignorance and not as a quality that they attribute to the country and her climate. (La Solidaridad, 1890) National Progress: The smallness of our advancement is due to the fact that our talented men have died without bequeathing to us nothing more than the fame of their name. (Letter to Fr. Vicente Garcia, 1891) Patriotism: The greatness of man is not be ahead of the age but to divine its desires, to respond to its needs, to guide it to march forward. (El Filibusterismo, 1891) Reforms: We do not want separation from Spain. All that we want is greater attention, better education, better government employees, one or two representatives and greater security for our persons and property. (Letter to Blumentritt, 1887) Revolutions: I have no desire to take part in conspiracies which seem to me too premature and risky. But if the government drives us to them, when there is no other hope for us... when the Filipinos would prefer to die rather than endure longer their misery, then I will also become a partisan of violent means. (Letter to Blumentritt, 1887) Filipinos Needed in their Country: They could serve their country more if they were in the Philippines. To serve our country, there is nothing like staying in it. (Letter to Jose Basa, 1889)

Rizal, the multifaceted genius mastered 22 languages, and according to Abeto, he was above the ordinary in 47 intellectual disciplines and other branches of human endeavors as linguist, philologist, poet, dramatist, essayist, satirist, folklorist, novelist, historian, translator, theologian, painter, sculptor, humorist, magician, scientist, psychologist, educator, engineer, surveyor, marksman, fencer, physical culturist, conchologist, botanist, businessman, cartographer, economist, entomologist, farmer, geographer, inventor, zoologist, musician, composer, lexicographer, prognosticator. He was also a cooperatives pioneer and a futurist, a man ahead of his time.

Filipino values November 29, 2005, 8:00am Manila Bulletin NOTWITHSTANDING the massive influx of western ideas and influences, our people have retained much of their native values and traditions. Isang duguan (one blood, one people), bayanihan (volunteerism), pagtutulungan (helping one another), pagbibigay galang (respectfulness), kasipagan (industriousness), mapagkakatiwalaan (trustworthiness), pakikipagkapwa-tao (neighborliness), katapatan (loyalty), kusang-loob (initiative), kapatiran (brotherhood), sama-sama (all together) are some of the many values embedded in Filipino culture and history. Together, they indicate the humaneness innate in our people where kinship, family, and community ties are the core of their way of life. Unfortunately, many of our people have copied the vices rather than the virtues of foreigners who came and lived with us. We took to gambling, ostentatious celebrations, among others. Dr. Jose P. Rizal highlighted these vices in his essays ("Message to the Young Women of Malolos and "The Indolence of the Filipinos) and cited them as the reasons for the backwardness of the Filipino people. He stressed that positive values, especially respect for mans dignity and honor, make men productive. Presidential Proclamation No. 479 declared November as Filipino Values Month. The proclamation stresses the message that positive values help a people to create their own future and preserve their freedom.

Rizals Indolence of the Filipinos By Randy David Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 04:52:00 12/29/2007 Filed Under: Education, Social Issues MANILA, Philippines -- Writing in 1890 for La Solidaridad, Jose Rizal takes up the question of the so-called indolence of the Filipinos. This claim, he argues, had allowed the Spanish colonial authorities to excuse their own stupidities, and the friars to make themselves irreplaceable. We should not be content to simply deny it, he says. We must examine the question calmly with all the impartiality of which a man is capable who is convinced that there is no redemption unless based solidly on virtue. This masterly exercise in deconstruction is Rizals most sociological and most compelling essay. Here is an exposition of the social theory underpinning the Noli. Rizal approaches his subject the way a modern scientist would, but in addition, he deploys all the metaphors at his disposal as a trained physician in order to add satirical force to his arguments. He looks at the behavior typically associated with the predisposition to indolence, and proceeds to analyze the context in which it is bred. The charge of indolence is hardly heard nowadays, for indeed the Philippines has become one of the main sources of the worlds nurses, domestic helpers, caregivers, seafarers, construction workers, musicians, entertainers, teachers, call center agents, etc. Yet, Rizals analysis remains valid to this day. The lack of advancement among our people is still, as in Rizals time, largely attributable to defects in their education and the lack of national sentiment. We all know about the underdeveloped state in which our educational system languishes. And yet we have only focused on the impoverished state of existing facilities and the miserable test scores of our pupils. We have not even begun to look at the kind of human beings our schools are producing, which is what bothered Rizal most. The very limited home education, the tyrannical and sterile education in the few educational centers, the blind subjection of youth to his elders, influence the mind not to aspire to excel those who preceded him and merely to be content to follow or walk behind them. Stagnation inevitably results from this, and as he who devotes himself to copying fails to develop his inherent qualities, he naturally becomes sterile; hence decadence. It is this resignation resulting from mental stagnation that preoccupied Rizal. He pursues this theme in his discussion of the Filipinos lack of national sentiment. The absence of any concern for the nation, he says, breeds another evil, which is the scarcity of any opposition to the measures that are prejudicial to the people and the absence of any initiative that will redound to their welfare. A man in the Philippines is only an individual; he is not a member of a nation. Where there is no sense of nation, there can be no collective striving to develop the country. Today it is not indolence but lack of discipline that is blamed for the Filipinos lack of progress. Like the claim of indolence, however, this supposed unruliness is used to explain many problems and justify the quest for dictatorial rule. It would not be enough to deny this lack of discipline, for indeed anyone can point to everyday manifestations of this annoying trait. Our chaotic city traffic and the countless remedial measures it provokes appear to be its most palpable expression. Every failed treatment only seems to highlight the terminal nature of the malady. Following Rizals method, we might however shift our focus from the symptoms to the social context. Why do Filipinos not follow rules? Why do they not fall in line and wait for their turn? Why do they turn to influential persons or patrons to obtain access to public services and institutions? There are two basic reasons, I believe. The first is ignorance, and the second is distrust of the system. Many Filipinos do not follow the rules because they dont know them, or if they do, they dont know how they are supposed to work. Its easy to say ignorance excuses no one, but shouldnt the first duty of government be to explain the laws to its citizens, their logic and justification. In the absence of such learning, people will improvise or stick to habit.

But the more important reason for lack of discipline is distrust of the system. It is the belief that following the rules gets you nowhere. If you fall in line, you may wait forever; others will find a way to get ahead of everyone. The idea is to devise your own trick, or to find a fixer you can pay or a powerful person whose influence you can tap in order to quickly get what you want. The assumption is that the system doesnt work, and is not meant to work. Looking at our social reality today, one finds that this way of thinking is not too far off the mark. Our system of rules does provide discretionary powers to some people -- powers essential to a social order based on large gaps in wealth and privilege, and on layers of dependence and patronage. In such a system, corruption is only the other face of patronage, a vital ingredient in the highly unequal society we have. This kind of society is becoming obsolete in the modern world. To prolong its life, pre-modern elites who run government are resorting to authoritarianism, while the citizens who cannot stand living in it are fleeing. But, because we too are evolving as a society, there is hope. Education and migration are releasing many Filipinos from ignorance and bondage. Peoples and governments are correlated and complementary, says Rizal. A stupid government is an anomaly among a righteous people, just as a corrupt people cannot exist under wise rulers and laws. ***