150 years ago, a hero was born. In the midst of all harshness, the second son and the 7th child of Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso entered the world as a Filipino. His mother treated and loved her children equally. But as a child, she already noticed the special talents of her second son. His name, that will be forever known not only in his nation but also to be commended and honored in other countries, is Jose Rizal. His last name, Mercado, had to be removed when he entered Ateneo because of his brother Paciano’s close association with Fr. Burgos, whom the friars branded as a filibustero, beheaded together with three more priests. Filibusteros were the activists of those time, and they were branded by society as outcasts and troublemakers. And later on in his life, Jose Rizal was branded as one, too.
The first influence in Dr. Jose ‘Pepe’ Rizal’s young life was his mother. Teodora introduced to her son the beauty of Tagalog poetry. She would lull him to sleep with the poems made in the native language. And it was through the young boy’s observation on his mother’s choices that he learned a sense of independence in thinking and reasoning. For even though the Spanish friars regarded Tagalog as mediocre and undeserving of attention, which many Filipinos that time believed and took in as true, Teodora Alonso differed from the rest and fell in love with poems from our native language. She was her own woman. And according to history, through example, Teodora molded her son, the Philippines’ national treasure, in his formative years to do the same thing and be the same way—to be a free thinker. And just like his mother, Pepe fell in love with words and its power. And this he used to express his love for country and countrymen.
Dr. Jose Rizal was the first Asian to fight colonial power, but his greatness was eclipsed by the sensation of Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi. Our national hero’s brilliance is not as popular as Mahatma Gandhi’s fame because the Philippines is much smaller than India. Thus, in world history, many people know more about the fight of the people of India against British rule. But the magnitude of recognition was never the main mission of our hero. It was our equality with the Spanish brothers. It was change and reform for the Filipino people. Though not as popular, our national hero did inspire many, even Mahatma Gandhi wrote letters to his daughter, Indira, about Dr. Jose Rizal.
Reading the life and works of Dr. Jose Rizal made me appreciate more what our hero did for our country. The love he had for the people and their right to a better life was a passion parallel to that of recent heroes such as Ninoy Aquino, and even those who live like Heidi Mendoza. So this made me wonder: Why is it do we have so many of them, still? Hereos—I mean. Though times are much better than what our brothers and sisters of then went through. The 16th century, which continued up to the 19th century, hurdled our people to an existence of lower men and women. The entry of colonizers reduced many to a life of unworthiness. And this was the fight Dr. Jose Rizal had to face—the removal of oppression for the entry of independence to happen. Fast forward to the time of Ferdinand Marcos and we have Ninoy Aquino, leading the pack towards the goal of freedom. Then to the time of GMA (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo), tyranny is alive again and cruelty is back.
So I wonder, after centuries that passed, why do we still fight the same battle? But I cannot say that things did not improve for us. Of course we have our independence because our heroes of that time made sure we regained it. We have our freedom back because, again, heroes sacrificed their lives so that we may enjoy ours in liberty. And now we have living heroes such as Jun Lozada, Heidi Mendoza, and Grace Pedaca, just to name a few, who continue with ideals of making integrity flow again and corruption removed. It is nice to know that we are in company of heroes.
But how long do we need heroes? How long do we need to wait until we realize that the job we need to take is not a responsibility of only a handful, but is a responsibility of all. That improvement and development is not the duty only of the government, or people in public office, but is the duty of all. That calamities and devastation are not needed for the hero in all of us to come out, because the hero in all of us can become a choice. It can become who we are. It can become what we are all about. We do not need to be woken up any longer, because we will be awake. All we need to do is care more. Just like what Jun Lozada said in a rally I attended then when he just came out as a witness for the NBN-ZTE case: “Sana ang laban natin para sa pagbabago ng ating bansa ay hindi galing sa galit kundi sa pagmamahal. Pagkat ang galit ay nawawala. Pero kung ginagawa natin ito at nandito tayo dahil mahal natin ang ating bansa, kahit ano pa ang mangyari, hindi natin ihihinto ang laban patungo sa ating pagbabago ( I hope this fight we have for change comes from love, not from anger, for anger fades. But if our fight comes from our love for our country, no matter what happens, we shall continue this fight for change).”
So it is actually good to know that we do not need someone as great as Dr. Jose Rizal for changes to happen. All we need to do now is to respect. Respect our people. This way we shall not forget them and we will help them if they need us. Respect our natural resources. This way we will think more than twice before we support or promote acts that destroy the beauty of our land. And finally, respect our country. This way we will always remember that no matter where we go, the Philippines is home. And just like any home, we need to take care of it, beautify it and protect it.
Reference:
Rizal- Filipino Nationalist and Patriot by Austin Coates
