Rizal’s concept of nation building

Rizal’s Concept of Nation Building

• Rizal was the first Filipino to give expression to the Philippine nationalism in his writings

• This was the time when the Filipinos had no sense of national consciousness nor a desire for independence

• Rizal’s conviction and concept of nationalism matured between 1882 and 1887

• From a distance, he gained a better view of his country’s problems

• He saw his country abused, maligned by the vices of the Spaniards and the Filipinos alike, helpless with his oppressed unhappy people

• He began to understand that the prolonged subjugation of his people was caused by two factors;

1. The absence of national consciousness2. Poor training and education of the people• Hence, his blueprint of nation building

includes;a. the importance of education, b. of instilling racial pride and dignity

among the people, c. promotion of national consciousness, d. reorientation of values and attitudes, e. and the willingness to sacrifice for the

country

Rizal’s Program of Action• His program of action consisted of a plan to

organize a group of Filipino students in Madrid• This group would form the nucleus that would

use their talents to work for solutions for the Philippine problems

• He proposed to them the writing of a book similar to Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Sue’s The Wandering Jew

• The book was to be the project of the Circulo-Hispano Filipino with each member contributing a chapter

• But most of the members wanted to write about the Filipino women

• Disgusted, Rizal decided to write on his own and this book was to be entitled Noli Me Tangere

• The writing of the Noli and its sequel El Fili made Rizal a doomed man, destined to die in the hands of the Spaniards

• But Rizal determined to pursue his plan of action by annotating Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas

• In this annotation, Rizal argued that the Philippines had already have a developed culture even before the coming of the Spaniards and that Filipinos were naturally industrious and had only dislike to work because of oppression made by the friars

• Having aroused the people to action, Rizal feared the possibility of resorting to arms as means to fight the Spaniards

• Rizal then wrote El Fili to show his countrymen the effects of having a revolution: Were there enough dedicated and trained leaders? Were the soldiers trained, disciplined, and well armed? How effective were their means of communication?

• The Revolution in El Fili failed because its leaders failed to consider these problems

• Thus, Rizal warned his countrymen to consider these problems before they go into revolution

Rizal’s Program of Reform• Rizal’s Political Reform- His political views

sought to seek a self-resilient and self-respecting government and “a people’s government, made for the people, by the people and of the people”

- Rizal was a pragmatist in politics for he had practical approaches for the solution of domestic and international problems

- In his essay “The Philippines Within a Century”, Rizal warned the Spanish government that unless she provided a solution for the complaints of the Filipinos, the people would one day revolt against Spain

- Spain must have to adopt measures to meet the conditions of his people in the Philippines

- With these, Rizal foresaw nationhood as the destiny of the Philippines

• Among the political reforms Rizal advocated were:

1. Representation of Filipinos to the Spanish Cortes

2. Freedom of the press- Restoring the colony’s

representation to the Cortes would promptly supply the Spanish government with accurate information regarding complaints and needs of the Filipino people

- And with the press to report and comment on the acts of the Spanish officials would make Spain and the Philippines be better

• Rizal’s Educational Reform- Rizal gave top priority to the importance

of education in the pursuance of liberty- He advocated education as a necessary

condition in a free society- He stated: “With or without Spain, (if

uneducated), they would always be the same and perhaps worse! Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow?”

- Rizal believed in the effectivity of education as a solution to the political, economic and social problems of the country

• Among the educational reforms advocated by Rizal were:

1. Mass education for the people2. Promotion of primary instructions3. Establishments of schools of arts

and crafts- Rizal argued that education of the

people did not necessarily mean that everyone should be a professional

- “We cannot all be doctors. It is necessary that some of us cultivate the soil. We must follow everyone’s own personal inclination”

• Socio-Economic Reforms- Rizal believed that enlightenment

through education is not enough to improve the country’s plight (problems)

- There must be a need to implement socio-economic reforms

- Political and educational reforms would be meaningless if people remained in poverty

- Rizal stressed that the Philippine economic development would depend largely on agricultural improvement, and the improvement of trade and industry on the other hand

• Moral Principles and Teachings- Rizal was not a writer of moral treaties

nor a moral philosopher- But his moral principles and teachings

had influenced the people to right conduct

- To him, morality was the “application of reason and conscience to specific problems of behavior”

- He advocated a nonviolent revolution to foster change and nationhood through cooperation

- “Hate never produces anything but monsters and criminals. Love alone can save.”

Discussion Aids

• Answer the following questions:1. Rizal preached that nationalism

should be lived in our everyday life. Give at least five examples of how you live nationalism in your everyday life.

2. What things have you done which you think have, in one way or another, contributed to the realization of Rizal’s blueprint for nation building?