Life and Works of Jose Rizal (GEC 109)

History Department, MSU-GSC

Compilation of Readings

Chapter 5 – Week 13
MODERN RIZAL
Lesson 5 - The Relevance of Rizal to the Present Society
Timeframe: 3 hours

 Objectives: At the end of this chapter, the students will be able

to:
1. Identify the significant philosophies and ideologies of Jose Rizal;
2. Assess the relevance of Rizal’s philosophies and ideologies to the
present Philippine society

Overview
As the adage says, “Ganito kami ngayon dahil ganito din sila noon,” supports that
societies came to be because of the events and actions of the past that influenced or molded
the present situation. The present Philippine society came to be because of the significant
events of the past and the actions and contributions of great men – one of them is Jose Rizal.
Among all the Philippine historical figures, Jose Rizal is the most documented and celebrated
historical figure in Philippine history. His life and ideologies were celebrated by Filipinos for
generations.
For this last chapter, the students will assess for themselves the relevance of Jose
Rizal’s ideologies in the present society. As Rizal said, the youths of today are the hope of
ones’ society.

 Abstraction

The Ideals of Rizal

(An excerpt from Rizal: Life, Works, and Ideals)
by Francsico M. Zulueta

The ideals of Rizal can be considered a unique aspect of our history that inspired to
the Filipinos a greater sense of dignity human values and faith in their own country and
civilization. It became a powerful vehicle to provide enlightenment and awakening of blind
people towards national progress.
The ideals of Rizal are eloquently demonstrated by his devotion to educating the
people on the fundamentals of democracy and the upliftment of their economic standards.
He believed that the Filipinos were not inferior as the Spaniards called “Indio” and that only
an awakening of their aspirations and spirit was needed to bring forth development.
Rizal, cognizant of the prevailing conditions was influenced by various motives – his
moral and rational persuasions as well as his tendency to idealize – insisted non-violent
means were more acceptable, more reasonable, and efficacious based on reason and
prejudice.

On Nationalism. This relatively modern term permeated the writings of Rizal. He tried
to emphasize the need to recover this great ideal to awaken the nationalistic spirit among
the Filipinos who were quite passive. Nationalism – the devotion to the interests of one’s

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Life and Works of Jose Rizal (GEC 109)
History Department, MSU-GSC
Compilation of Readings

country is a means of existence. The Filipinos should never take for granted nationalism.
This in turn helps the Filipinos survive through the ages no matter what political and
economic oppression they have to face.
In the Fili, his characters were much more eager to press for a Filipino nation. Simoun
said: “If they refuse to teach you their language, then cultivate your own, make it more
widely known keep alive our native culture for our people, instead of aspiring to be a
mere province, aspire to be a nation, develop an independent mentality so that neither
rights nor customs, nor language the Spaniards may ever feel at home here, or even be
looked upon by our people as the fellow-citizen, but rather, always as an invader, a
foreigner, and sooner or later you shall be free.” For Simon, such a world can only be made
after the elimination of “tyrants and slaves among the nation”.
Some of Rizal’s writings sounded ominous and subversive to some of his
contemporaries. The Fili seemed to have advocated national independence for the Filipinos.
But how is it to be gained? Rizal hesitated and it seemed that he was aware of the many
bloody incidents that would come with the revolution. Rizal’s hesitation was reflected in the
words of Father Florentino: “ I do not mean to say that our freedom must be won at the
point of sword. The sword now counts for very little destinies of our times. But I do say
that we must win our freedom by deserving it, by improving the mind and enhancing the
dignity of the individual, loving what is just and what is good, what is great to the point
of dying for it.”
Nationalism is “a banner of freedom proclaiming the national interests of the people,
to be promoted and safeguarded by themselves so that the fruits of their efforts and the
wealth derived from their God-given resources shall accrue to them, and thus enable all of
our people to rise above poverty, and march on to prosperity, contentment, and dignity.

Nationalism in Education. Education can be a powerful weapon in propagating

nationalism. A national education would place great importance on the teaching of Philippine
history from the point of view of the Filipino people. this will develop an anti-colonial, anti-
imperialist orientation based on our historical experience as a people. Such history should
clarify how, why, and for whose benefit our people have been exploited and oppressed. A
nationalist education would also emphasize critical study of the Philippine economy so that,
as people, we will learn to be wary of economic progress proposed by foreign governments
and institutions. Moreover, we should know how the world capitalist system operates so that
we can understand in way economic development will affect our people. in history, as in
economics, we must use only one basic yardstick. We must judge past events and present
developments in terms of whether or not they serve or will serve the best interests of the
Filipino people.
Educating for nationalism means educating for a national and social purpose. It means
going beyond (but not neglecting) the conventional tasks of training a person to earn a living
and developing his intellect, skills, and character.
Educating for nationalism means consciously educating Filipinos to be Filipinos –
Filipinos who will work for the Philippines and the Filipino people. to be pro-Philippines and
pro-Filipinos, one must have a national identity. Our present education system promotes
pride in our beautiful land, our sampaguita, our Mayon and Banawe, our smiling people. It
promotes national identity or nationhood, but nationalism is more than nationhood.
The Filipino people, have the right to decide what kind of society they want, what is
best for them. They should strive to have the fullest political and economic independence to
chart their own future. This is the essence of nationalism.
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Life and Works of Jose Rizal (GEC 109)
History Department, MSU-GSC
Compilation of Readings

On Moral Values. Moral values can only exist only in a free being and his voluntary
human acts. By willingness to be morally good, a man becomes good.
Moral values is universal in the sense that what holds for an individual, holds for all
in the same conditions and circumstances. Moral values imply obligation.
Rizal, a man of powerful energy and intellectual endowments valued loyalty, filial
devotion benevolence, love, faithfulness, justice, harmony and peace.
Rizal had a penchant for describing the power structure which seemed to him unjust
and thus induced people to criminality and discontent. “The discontented, the criminal, and
the desperate will follow you, but the people will stand apart, I would not follow you myself;
I would never resort to these extreme measures while I could see some hope in me.” He made
his major character in Fili point out the needed reforms; radical reforms in military, in the
clergy, in the administration of justice … more respect for human dignity, greater security
for the individual and less privileges for an organization which so easily abuses them.”

On Cooperation. Rizal at an early age, was awakened to the necessity of cooperation

among men and, thus was a forerunner to the United Nations and the other world efforts at
peace keeping. Others tried to influence him to individualistic ideals but their effort never
matched the solid cooperative conviction of Rizal. He said: “He who wants to help himself
should help others, because if he neglects others, he too will be neglected by them. One
midrib is easy to break, but not a bundle of many midribs tied together.” Rizal wanted so
much to unite Filipino people.
He believed that class struggles is not a requirement to human progress. Man has been
guided by the principles of cooperation and not conflict. “Class war is not the cause of social
progress. The cause of this disease is the inability to subsist, and the result of the disease is
war …
Cooperation is working together for a common purpose. It exists among members of
the family peers, and friends by way of mutual sharing of efforts to achieve the desired goals.
Rizal emphasized that cooperation as a social process in which people work together to
achieve a common goal and to share benefits. This social process eloquently shows the
mutual sharing of efforts and abilities to achieve the desired end of the individuals. People
allied themselves because of the common belief that any kind of undertaking will be made
easier if they help one another. It is the continuous and common endeavors of two or more
persons to perform a task or to reach a goal that it commonly cherished. Cooperation starts
in the family.

On Nation-building. Nation-building was one of the magnificent obsessions of Rizal.

After reading an article of Marcelo H. del Pilar, Rizal immediately wrote Mariano Ponce. “On
the day when all Filipinos like him (Del Pilar) working for unity and like us, on that day we
shall have fulfilled our arduous mission which is the formation of the Filipino nation.”
Rizal consistently fought for human dignity. “Deprive a man then of his dignity,” he
warned, “and you not only deprive him of his moral stamina but also you render him useless
even to those who want to make use of him. Every being in creation has his spur, his
mainspring; man’s is his self-respect; take it away from him and he becomes a corpse; and
he who demands activity from a corpse will find worms.” In a letter Father Pablo Pastells,
Rizal rhapsodized: “To me man is the masterpiece of creation, perfect within his conditions,
who cannot be deprived of any of his component parts, moral as well as physical, without
disfiguring and making him miserable.” Man is not a brute; he is not a machine. His aim is
not merely to produce … His purpose is not only satisfying the passion of another man. His
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Life and Works of Jose Rizal (GEC 109)
History Department, MSU-GSC
Compilation of Readings

object is to seek happiness for himself and his fellow men by following the road towards
progress and perfection.”
For Rizal: “All reforms of a palliative character are not only useless but even injurious
when the government is confronted with evils that need a radical remedy. In order for the
Filipino to progress it was essential for him to have a revolutionary spirit boiling in his veins
because “progress necessarily requires change. It implies the overthrow of the past … and
the triumph of new ideas over the old and accepted one.”
The blue print of Rizal for nation-building included the importance of instilling racial
pride and dignity among his people, the promotion of national consciousness, the re-
orientation of values and attitudes, and the willingness to sacrifice for the country through
education.
Rizal insisted on educating his people so that they could eradicate the vices of their
society successfully and develop a national awareness of their rights and pride in their
country’s heritage and culture. He emphasized on the importance of the livelihood of the
people – its social welfare and economic justice – as the foremost task in nation-building.

On Democracy. The twin ideals of democracy and liberty, were emphasized by Rizal,
carried reverberations throughout the world especially in Asia.
Rizal wrote in deep reassuring style on democracy and liberty because he foresaw
various problems not only for himself but also for his countrymen. His commitment to liberty
was as overpowering that he made sure that the people understood what he is saying. For
this purpose, he did not hesitate to use the ordinary way of life to make his ideas clear.
“Liberty is not obtained without pain or merit, nor is it granted gratis at amore.”
In a democracy, the supreme power is vested in the people, the political leader’s
ultimate concern should be the welfare of the majority, he willingly binds himself with the
ideas of the constitution and the laws of the land and to observe righteousness and justice
for the common good. Peoples and governments are complementary, that governments
having been establishment for the welfare of the people should know their needs.
For the political health of a country, a free and responsible free press is very
important.
Rizal used all persuasions to have Spain grant Philippines representation in the
Spanish Cortes and freedom of the press. He cited history to prove that “uprisings and
revolutions have always occurred in countries where human thought and the human heart
have been forced to remain silent.”
Citing the example of Napoleon, he said “If the Napoleon had not tyrannized over the
press, perhaps the press itself would have warned him of the peril into which the was hurled
and would have made him understand that the people were weary and the world wanted
peace … Spain herself records in her history more revolution during the period when the
press is gagged.
The press freedom Rizal advocated, would today covert all forms of media – press,
TV, and radio. He advocated his freedom for the good of every one, not only for the populace
but especially for the rulers so that in understanding the temper of their people, they may
forestall omission of errors. It was also to serve a check on the abuse of the authority and a
reminded that rulers are accountable to the people who can replace them if they no longer
serve the welfare of their constituency.
Rizal was undoubtedly very idealistic, but his ideals were attainable. He proved this is
his exile in Dapitan where he played very successfully the rules of educator, physician,
scientist, businessman, artist, and civic-spirited citizen.
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Life and Works of Jose Rizal (GEC 109)
History Department, MSU-GSC
Compilation of Readings

On Education. Rizal’s love for education sine childhood was one of his lofty ideals.
For him, “Without education and liberty – the soil and the sun of mankind, no measure can
give the desired result. What we want to increase is that no obstacles be placed on (a
Filipino’s) way not to increase the many that the climate and the situation of the islands
already create for him, not the begrudge his educational opportunities for fear that when he
becomes intelligent, he will separate from the colonizing nation or demand rights to which
he is entitled.
To his friend Blumentritt, he wrote: “We shall devote our strength to the education of
the Filipino people, which is my supreme aspiration.” The supreme aspiration was a
necessary condition in the quest for national identity and progress.” I put as a premise the
education of the people so that through education and work they might have a personality
of their own and make themselves worthy of them.”
Rizal emphasized the need of the people for education before they could aspire for
freedom and all the blessings it would bring. Without education, no reform is possible, that
is not tranquility and happiness are possible, “Our life is useless life which is not consecrated
to a great idea. It is a stone wasted in the fields without becoming a part of any edifice.” The
“great idea” or the “edifice” is the building of the Filipino nation, the establishment of a
Philippine republic,
The education and enlightenment of the people would accelerate the acquisition of
liberty and the process of national unification. A people “showing itself worthy, noble and
honest” as a result of being enlightened, will not forever be an easy prey to exploitation and
injustice.
As Rizal put it, with the hour’s loss in their lives also the “loss of part of their dignity
and their self-respect and an increase of despair, resentment and aversion to studies.”
From all these, Rizal was obsessed with the idea of education. Education for the
masses, education of the elite, and also education for the women, as evidenced in his letter
of praise to the young women of Malolos whom they asked to be allowed to open to open a
night school for girls. Of special concern to Rizal was the education of Filipino women
because they are the ones who “awaken and prepare the mind of the child for every good
and desirable idea – love for honor, love for one’s fellowmen and respect for God.” He urged
women to “fortify their children’s character against any difficulty and to strengthen their
hearts against any danger because life is full of sorrows and perils.”
As pointers in correct behavior, Rizal while in Dapitan taught his pupils the value of
honesty, truthfulness and good manners. He told the pupils to be good students in academic
matters and also trained them to be “gentlemen” in interpersonal relations. He stressed the
importance of good manners which is not a difficult task.

On Governance. Since power is the very heart of politics, the ruler who exercises the
authority to govern should promote the interest and general welfare of the people.
Government exists for the benefit of the governed. It is very important for the protection of
the inhabitants, the administration of justice, and the advancement of the physical,
economic, social, and cultural well-being of the people. The preservation of the state from
internal and external danger is one of the primary functions of the government.
The citizen should be encouraged to participate to government undertakings and
productive activities by way of consultation through peaceful and lawful means.
The people managing the affairs of government shall have brains and ability, political
maturity and experience.

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Life and Works of Jose Rizal (GEC 109)
History Department, MSU-GSC
Compilation of Readings

The observance of the principle that ours is a government of laws and not men should
be observed and upheld at all times.
Government is a means to the end of the state, the common good, the temporal
welfare of the people. A government that actually fulfills this end to the satisfaction of
human expectation is good. A government that does not serve the needs of the people but
governs to protect the interests and welfare of a few at the expense of many is not good.
A government is committed to promote the general welfare, morals, intelligence,
social justice, and the ultimate happiness of the people.

On the Family. The family, as the basic and oldest social institution, is very important
in shaping the character of the child. It is the first means where socializing influence is
encountered by most children and this, in effect, influences them for the rest of their lives.
The family determines the child’s social class, religious orientation and the language used
and each of these factors have profound influence on the upbringing of the children. The
family teacher children value they hold dear throughout their lives.
The family acts as a social laboratory which prepares the child for life in the bigger
society and that it is the family which is the first, the closest, and the most influential social
group in the child’s life. The children are expected to be loyal, and obedient to the family.
The greatest legacy that the parents can bequeath their children is rectitude in
judgment, generosity in rights, and steadfastness in adversity; the greatest honor that a son
can pay his parents is integrity and a good name, that the acts of the son may never make
his parents live shame, and the rest God will provide.

On Livelihood. Rizal objected vehemently Marx’s Communist ideology. He believed

that human progress was guided by cooperation, not conflict. The people’s livelihood
determines the economic status of the family. He was convinced that an enlightened and
constructive economic focal points of the government to alleviate poverty. He advocated
that the two major means of having a viable livelihood program is through equalization of
land ownership and regulation of capital. The government has to purchase land from the
landlords and place it in the hands of those who actually worked on it. “Regulation of Capital”
was essential to combat the ill of effects of capitalism, to guard against the control of
industries by private sectors, which would result in the domination by private individuals,
thus giving rise to class distinction and unequal distribution of wealth.

On Justice. For Rizal, justice is the constant and perpetual will to allot to every man
his due. In the judicial system, it should undergo different court processes and the best
credibility should be exercised.
The ideal of justice, indeed, illustrates that the lady of justice truly blindfolded and
read to smite with her sword those whose inequity weigh down her scales can be presented
to the world. He attested that the twin ideals of the system of justice and swiftness and
fairness. This is effect, is consistent with legal maxim, “that justice delayed is justice denied.”
Under democratic society, “no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, and property
without due process of law.” A fair, speedy, and impartial investigation should be
administered before a final judgment is mad

 Reference:
Zulueta, Francisco M. RIZAL: Life, Works, and Ideals. National Bookstore, 2004.

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