Sablay, Kenneth Bryan M.

RZL110/B2

RIZAL’S GREAT PAST, AND A FADING FUTURE

He had awaken eyes of countless Filipino’s on the harsh nature of the Spanish era, he had

exposed them for their actions, has inspired people in his time to fight for our country, no matter

how grim the situation looks. Because of his actions, numerous more individuals who shares his

ideals has risen, and became heroes themselves, all of which we all look up to. A great battle has

ended, between swords, and bullets, guns, and of pen and paper. They had defended our country

with a great sense of loyalty, love, and prided for our country, and yet, we take all of those for

granted, and is it for a good reason?

Rizal’s ideals may have been most useful before, but one can argue that those ideals

would not find much use into today’s issues. Yes, it is a great way to teach how one must love

his/her country, but he himself has issues of his own, one that is not within his writings. These

issues, he may have handled in ways that we, ourselves would bring into question. This is also

supported in the “Two Extremes” part of the reading. Yes, a great lesson can be learned, but

those books are merely a mirror of the past that does not exist anymore. Moreover, in this time,

where people are more concerned on fulfilling their own needs and desires, on a highly

globalized country, the Philippines as Jose Rizal dreamed it to be, requires for us to be Jose

Rizal’s in our own little way, and that would be quite impossible because we are all concerned

for our own needs, just like Basilio, just like how the “From Asocial to Anti-Social Behavior”

states that we would more likely look out for ourselves than other, being a Basilio instead of a

Rizal. These reasoning is not to take away the fact that Rizal’s achievement is in a league of its

own, but it states that in this present time, his books and ideals are just a relic of the past.
 These reasoning may meet a lot of contradictions from others. It serves as my stand to the

debate on whether Rizal is obsolete or not. His achievements and ideals are not some sort of bar

that we all need to overcome, because in his time when what he did was necessary, that is not the

case now. We are more concerned of ourselves, most evidently, in this crisis we are on. Some

individuals are being a Rizal in their own little ways while most of us are Basilio’s, striving to

survive every day. Whether it is a good thing or a bad thing for our country, we have only

ourselves to ask that question.