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Section: Ww4

Reflection on Veneration without understanding by Renato Constantino

No one can be thoroughly certain of the absolute truth of the past, that is what I believe.
There are arguments that says, some truths we read from the book and some we heard from our
ancestors but there will always be a hole somewhere in the story that can never be filled unless
we try to find the absolute missing piece. However, one of the purpose of learning is to be aware
and to be educated. What I wanted to impart is that, as a learner we are bound to face
informations that are news to us almost every day and it may contradict the current beliefs we
have. The example of this is how we were fed about Rizal being our hero. Since I was a kid, I
was taught that Jose Rizal is our National hero, he fought for our country’s independence without
having bloods in his hands. He sacrificed his life and sparked the spirit of nationalism of the
Filipino as an individual. Personally, as a Filipino I did believe that he is our national hero and I
admire him of what he had done to our dearest country, indeed heroic. However, I was not
convinced even back then that he is the best choice not because there is someone better but I
have this belief that there shouldn’t be in there because many have fought with their lives for the
country and are worth naming heroes.

Renato Constantino's article, Veneration without Understanding, about our national hero Dr.
Jose Rizal, which I recently read, tells us about him being undeserved of his title. He commenced
his essay by comparing him as national hero to the other heroes. He dispalyed his ideology on
what a hero is by stating that the national hero is usually the one who leads the revolution, but
not in the Philippines’ case. Our national hero, Rizal, rather condemned the revolution and stand
against it. He further discussed how Rizal viewed the words “liberty” and “ independence”
differently, the concept of Filipino nationhood and and how Rizal influenced the recognition of
the Filipino race and elevated the term “indios”. He also stated there that who chose Rizal to be
our national hero. He argued that Rizal was chosen by the Americans because he was already
dead and will not be able to encourage a cult. He is from an “ilustrados” and he was killed by the
“kastilas” and by the Americans. Moreover, he strongly disagree to those people’s holiness of
our national hero. He argues that Dr. Jose Rizal is unworthy of being named our national hero for
the following reasons: first, he declined to join the revolutionary army; second, he
underestimated the mass's strength and knowledge; and third, he never truly promoted true
democracy because he claims that it is a privilege reserved for the educated and not a collective
right. 

 In my humble opinion, I would not conclude that I believe everything Constantino stated in
his essay since he himself, had his own standards of having a hero. I also concur that believing of
what a hero is has something to do with our judgments in choosing a hero. Though I understand
and looked forward to his arguments his data was not based on facts, I assume. According to my
research the heroes he mentioned, he didn’t even bother to delve deeper. Finding out,
Washington was a rich man – owning plantations and even slaves. Rizal had nothing compared
to what Washington had but his family and attainment of such high degree of education.
Americans did not choose the province to be named Rizal, it was a Filipino native who initiate
the name of Rizal to be used at thus was approved by the States. In addition to this, the death of
Rizal was known to be celebrated even before the Americans arrived – Emilio Aguinaldo had set
the day to an observance. Lastly, Rizal was not the person needed by the Americans because he
was a good model of anti-thesis of revolution, he is not a puppet used to lure us, not a piper to
hypnotize us – he is respected to be the hero of our heroes.

I believe Constantino's goal with the article is to persuade readers that Rizal is incapable of
the title of national hero. Any of Constantino's justified quotations are ones in which I
disagree.  As a result, I will stay stay on the idea that I have about heroes that I respect Rizal as
our national hero as a Filipino however, I don not personally delve into him as our hero.
Educationally, I still believe that Rizal's philosophies are still significant; surely, our generations
and circumstances may develop over time, but we can still use his teachings as a reference in our
modern era of society. To conclude this, I do not really know what to say if Dr. Jose Rizal
deserves to be our national hero or not as I always set store by because there are a lot of
standards, misunderstood statements and opinions of many other people; instead, I want to
emphasize that no one is flawless, and there are facets of Rizal that can be seen as models, as
well as those that need to be updated and changed. What matters is that we recognize what has
been done in the past, its significant, its impact, those mistakes and use them as examples of
whatnot to do in the future. Let us not learn for the sake of criticism and insults rather for the
good of our country and for the peace of our minds. We will not be able to reverse the past. What
we can do is take what we can from it. We should not erect obstacles by continuing our search
for a true hero and a true Filipino, which only serves to divide us and contribute to our own
extinction as a country. We would only be able to deal with our grasping problems if we work
together. Only by working together as a Filipino race would we be able to up hold our way of
life. Unity is something we do not have, so it is something we desperately need.