You thought I wouldn't make a Rizal Day post? Think again.
Although I was seriously considering not posting. Not because I'm lazy or anything. I really want to post something informative and/or meaningful (hopefully it's an "and"), something like my Bonifacio day post, but somehow I couldn't. I felt like I didn't have enough info on Rizal to post an informative-enough entry.
I seriously need a new Rizal book. Aside from the Kasaysayan set and the 1998 Philippine Almanac, all I have is Ambeth Ocampo's Rizal Without the Overcoat. Yes, I did learn a lot of new things from that book, but feeling ko everyone knows those things na rin.
But, yeah. I'll risk it. You've probably read all these somewhere, or maybe your History teacher's mentioned it at one point. Kung alam n'yo na, e di alam n'yo na.
So. A few thoughts on Rizal Day.
...Bury me in the ground, place a stone and a cross over it. My name, the date of my birth and of my death. Nothing more. If later you wish to surround my grave with a fence, you may do so. No anniversaries. I prefer Paang Bundok.
These words were taken from an undated letter to Rizal's family. He wrote it while held in Fort Santiago. Obviously, his "death wish" wasn't granted. Sure, there's a stone over his grave - a stone monument, that is. And yeah, there's a fence around it, sure. And of course, his name and dates of birth and death are there, but the "nothing more" part is disregarded. And the "no anniversaries" thing? Every year, the president goes to Luneta for a flag raising ceremony, among other things.
It's not that I don't want to celebrate Rizal Day. But I point this out because I think it shows the irony of it all. We call him the National Hero, one of the greatest men of our country. But how can we give him such "respect" when we couldn't even have honored his death wish?
* * * * *
Some people regard Rizal as a god. We are amazed at the things he's done. He's a poet, a novelist, a doctor, sculptor, painter...he's fluent in several languages, including English, Spanish, German and Tagalog.
All these things, all these achievements, make us look up to him. Yet, these are the very things that detach us from him and vice versa. We think he's all that because he's done all these things. But what most Filipinos don't know is that Rizal was no genius. Sure, he was born with an unusually large head, but he wasn't born a painter, or a linguist, or a doctor. He studied hard to achieve his "doctor" status. (Well, he didn't really get that status because he never took the exam.) He became a linguist because he travelled a lot. He had to learn all these languages in order to survive in Spain, Belgium, Germany, etc.
He loved his mother and his books most of all - he would always tell his sisters to look after them (his mother and the books) while he was away.
Bottom line? Yes, Rizal is a great man. But that's just it. Rizal is a man. He is human. Most of all, he's a Filipino. If he was able to do all those things, then we can, too. After all, we're all just like him - human and Filipino.
Ngayon ang ika-111 anibersaryo ng kamatayan ni Rizal. Gunitain hindi lamang ang kanyang kabayanihan, kundi ang buo niyang katauhan.
I seriously need a new Rizal book. Aside from the Kasaysayan set and the 1998 Philippine Almanac, all I have is Ambeth Ocampo's Rizal Without the Overcoat. Yes, I did learn a lot of new things from that book, but feeling ko everyone knows those things na rin.
But, yeah. I'll risk it. You've probably read all these somewhere, or maybe your History teacher's mentioned it at one point. Kung alam n'yo na, e di alam n'yo na.
So. A few thoughts on Rizal Day.
...Bury me in the ground, place a stone and a cross over it. My name, the date of my birth and of my death. Nothing more. If later you wish to surround my grave with a fence, you may do so. No anniversaries. I prefer Paang Bundok.
These words were taken from an undated letter to Rizal's family. He wrote it while held in Fort Santiago. Obviously, his "death wish" wasn't granted. Sure, there's a stone over his grave - a stone monument, that is. And yeah, there's a fence around it, sure. And of course, his name and dates of birth and death are there, but the "nothing more" part is disregarded. And the "no anniversaries" thing? Every year, the president goes to Luneta for a flag raising ceremony, among other things.
It's not that I don't want to celebrate Rizal Day. But I point this out because I think it shows the irony of it all. We call him the National Hero, one of the greatest men of our country. But how can we give him such "respect" when we couldn't even have honored his death wish?
* * * * *
Some people regard Rizal as a god. We are amazed at the things he's done. He's a poet, a novelist, a doctor, sculptor, painter...he's fluent in several languages, including English, Spanish, German and Tagalog.
All these things, all these achievements, make us look up to him. Yet, these are the very things that detach us from him and vice versa. We think he's all that because he's done all these things. But what most Filipinos don't know is that Rizal was no genius. Sure, he was born with an unusually large head, but he wasn't born a painter, or a linguist, or a doctor. He studied hard to achieve his "doctor" status. (Well, he didn't really get that status because he never took the exam.) He became a linguist because he travelled a lot. He had to learn all these languages in order to survive in Spain, Belgium, Germany, etc.
He loved his mother and his books most of all - he would always tell his sisters to look after them (his mother and the books) while he was away.
Bottom line? Yes, Rizal is a great man. But that's just it. Rizal is a man. He is human. Most of all, he's a Filipino. If he was able to do all those things, then we can, too. After all, we're all just like him - human and Filipino.
Ngayon ang ika-111 anibersaryo ng kamatayan ni Rizal. Gunitain hindi lamang ang kanyang kabayanihan, kundi ang buo niyang katauhan.