According to Constantino, in the article's preface, Rizal did not want

to hold up a mirror to our faces and demonstrate how unimpressive we are

as a nation. That is to say, Rizal wanted the mirror to portray the
society and people of Rizal's time rather than our negative traits,
flaws, and meanness. We now learn that this negative perception of
Filipinos has persisted ever since Rizal's time and continues to this
day. As a result, two factions with distinct philosophical philosophies
emerged. One group held Rizal in such high regard because they believed
he possessed extraordinary prophetic visionary abilities. They also have
the view that Rizal's teachings are timeless and static.

The opposing side holds Rizal in the same high regard and asserts that
the circumstances he described have already passed and do not currently
exist. Constantino claims that both organizations undermined Rizal
because they misunderstood the public significance of his beliefs.
Rizal's primary objective is transformation, not to ridicule and shame
us by reflecting on our past. Furthermore, Rizal will be highly
displeased to learn that we are praising his authenticity when we
discover that the guidelines he established during his time still apply
today. In contrast, the issues that seem unstoppable and impossible in
our society should be our primary concern. Constantino asserts that our
objective is straightforward: We must eliminate Rizal from our lives.

As a result, Rizal's lessons will become the straightforward recollection

of the past they were intended to be. Constantino primarily focused on
a few of the characters that Rizal created in his two well-known books,
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, and how these characters' vices
and flaws may still be seen in contemporary society in the following
sections of the article. Tulisan, for instance, is not restricted to
mountainous regions; they can be found in towns and cities. They are the
ones who live in towns and cities but exhibit characteristics of
Tulisanes, such as disdain for the law and a determination to advance
their interests at any cost, regardless of the societal consequences
that their antisocial behavior may have. Another option is the current
Don Timoteo Pelaez.

Next is the one-armed character from the Noli Me Tangere chapter, who
represents the contemporary peddlers and fixers, particularly the public
servants and government officials who use their position and authority
to influence the populace. These are today's influential, wealthy people
who bribe others (in Don Timoteo Pelaez's case, the government) for their
gain, such as to avoid falling short of their rivals. The concluding
paragraph highlighted why Rizal should be seen as superior to Basilio
and that we should all try to imitate him. In other words, in all we do,
we should constantly keep the nation's well-being in mind. First, we
should not take the conditions Rizal described the Filipinos as if they
apply to all Filipinos of all ages and are eternal. These are the three
aspects in the description above that were most important. By doing this,
we admitted that these conditions had already become established in us
and that it was exceedingly unlikely that transformation would take
place.

However, Rizal's depictions of the people and society of his era in his
writings should be seen as entirely historical relics of the past.
Something that should not be looked forward to by future generations to
begin, Rizal's descriptions of Filipino situations should not be taken
as absolute realities that apply to all Filipinos at all times. The fact
that these requirements were already in place and extremely unlikely to
alter was acknowledged by us in this way. Regarding the people and
society of his time, the situations Rizal portrayed should be considered
historical and an artifact from history. A problem that will not likely
occur again in the future.

Third, as Constantino said, instead of striving to emulate Basilio, we

should try to emulate Rizal. Always put the well-being of the nation's
citizens before our objectives and interests while making judgments. The
element of Constantino's post that caught my attention the most after
reading it all was when he said that pupils nowadays regularly display
Basilio's traits. My being one of those pupils is probably to blame for
this. Focusing on our nation's issues and difficulties may be difficult
for an engineering student. Academic success has already taken on the
status of my absolute reality and top priority due to my intense focus
on obtaining it. Because I was so focused on finishing my coursework, I
entirely disregarded the outside world. I changed into a successful
independent Basilio who does not give a damn what happens to the rest
of the world. I gave the whole thing considerable thought when I was
done. I have advised myself to strive to be more like Rizal than Basilio
rather than the latter. Even if I still need to do a decent job, I should
always put the interests of others before my own since the nation's
overall welfare is what matters most.