Rebuttal

José Rizal was born into a rich family, the son of a Filipino father and a Chinese mother.
Despite their fortune, his family was discriminated against since neither parent was born on the
peninsula. In 1892, he went back to Manila and founded the Liga Filipina, a political
organization dedicated to bringing peace to the Philippines. Nonetheless, Rizal was banished to
the island of Mindanao by Spanish rulers, who were dissatisfied. He performed medicine,
instructed pupils, and gathered local samples of flora and wildlife while recorded his findings
throughout his four years there. He immediately rejected the movement when it turned violent
and revolutionary, despite having lost connection with those who were striving for Filipino
independence.

“A people can be free without being independent, and a people can be independent
without being free.” Rizal did not join the revolution but it doesn’t mean that he did not care for
the welfare of the nation. He is smart enough to know that the Filipinos at that time have no
resources and knowledge to be independent of Spain. He believes that the relationship of the
Spaniards with the Filipinos is not parasitic but rather mutualistic. Imagine the life of Spaniards
staying longer in our country and Rizal got the equal rights he is demanding with Spain. More
Filipinos will be educated, they can teach us commerce and trade that can help the Philippine
Economy, more people will learn the basics of more advanced countries. With this knowledge
plus our talents, we can have a more independent country than we have today. We are free now,
but we are still struggling because it seems that everyone we elect is not smart, nationalistic, and
caring enough for our country. We are still suffering and not advancing, unlike the other
countries. We are being left behind. It is safe to say that Rizal are more futuristic than the rest of
the Filipino people at that time. He did not let his mind be influenced by his emotions like most
of the Filipinos and act carelessly. Physical power is not the only factor that can help the nation,
for him mind is power.