Demythologizing Rizal
Rizal as a Human
Selflessness was a trait where a person would not prioritize himself. Instead, he would think first what other people need. Jose Rizal was like that. Even if he knew he would hurt himself in what he was doing, he would definitely do it for the sake of other people because he grew up in the family of prioritizing others. What he had seen from his mother and father, he copied and imitated them. He was brave, patriotic, and loving. He loved his town more than anywhere else. He loved his family more than himself and most of all, he loved to learn. He would study even if it meant being far away from his town and family, he endured all of it and instead of not doing well, he did his best.
As a child, he was already aware of the situation of the Filipinos in the Philippines. He was aware of the friars and he was aware of what they do. Their family experienced the pain brought by the cruel friars firsthand.
And when he grew up, that experience caused a scar on his heart. A scar that every time he would see an unfairly treated Filipino by the Spaniards, would open up and bleed again.
When he explored other countries, he studied well to learn many things so that he can help his fellow countrymen. He made two novels that reflected the situation of the Philippines by the hands of the Spaniards. And those novels caused him to perish. Those novels caused his life to end. Those novels caused many of his countrymen cry in despair.
By reading his works and biographies and by watching movies of Jose Rizal, people had come to know and assumed that he was no human. But those people were wrong. Jose Rizal had fears too. He was scared by those bullies when he was young. He would seek shelter to his parents and nanny. Sometimes, he was scared of his parents finding out that he had a bruise on the face which he got from school. He was scared every time he was alone studying in other countries. He felt the coldness and was always at the furnace trying to keep his body warm. He feared for the safety of his family back home. And he also broke down when he heard that Leonor was to be wedded by other man and worst was he heard it through a mail.
Jose Rizal feared for his life. But that fear was plagued by love. His love for the country and his fellowmen was so strong that there were no amount of bullets that can outdo it. Even if he cried a lot of tears, half of those were for him and the other half were for the people that would be left at. Even if he felt tired, he continued to go on because he knew that there were people still holding on and not giving up. He was against physical violence because he also knew that the Filipinos were not yet ready and he didn’t want them to fail on their revolts. He knew that Filipinos that time were not that unified because of islands separation. And some Filipinos were ally of the Spaniards.
When he was exiled in Dapitan, he begged the general assigned to him that he would be in peace if he and his parents and siblings would be able to be together and live there as one family. Sometimes, in whatever difficulties people went through, all one needed was a loving family and everything else won’t matter. And that time was when Jose Rizal was almost tired of being selfless. He wanted to see his family and be with them to be happy. But with that small request, the general didn’t let him.
During his time in Dapitan, he was in his most productive self. He knew a lot of things. There, he cured many people, tended animals and planted crops. He taught many children that were willing to learn under his watch. He taught them lessons one could not ever forget.
Jose Rizal was a type of person that whatever things he was interested in, he would do his best to learn how it worked. Even a simple stroll at the woods would become so educational. He discovered species of insects and animals and named them after him.
If one would ever met Rizal during his time, one cannot deny the fact that he was a person with so many God-given talents. And those talents were mold into skills as he continued to learn them with his very supportive family. He was courageous to do something new and he was not afraid to commit mistakes. That alone was the advantage of Jose Rizal to all generations of the Filipinos in the country because as a person with weak heart and mind, everybody was afraid to make mistakes. And Jose Rizal was just an exceptional human being.
