RIZ Week13 1 Notes

RIZLW01
Week 13 Notes on Dr. Rizal and Nation Building
Rizal’s Concept on Nation Building
Despite political inhibitions, Rizal aimed at the restoration of his people’s dignity and the
recognition of their natural rights. He saw his country abused, maligned by vices of the
Spaniards and the Filipinos alike, helpless with their oppressed unhappy people. The country
inspired in him not inky sympathy but an enduring love. He began to understand now that
the prolonged subjugation of his people was caused primarily by two factors, namely, the
absence of national consciousness and the poor training and education of the people.
Hence, his concept in nation building are as follows:
 Importance of Education - Rizal looked upon education as a prerequisite to the
realization of a people’s freedom. It is through education that people obtain knowledge
of themselves as individuals and as members of a nation. He insisted on educating his
people so that they may successfully eradicate the vices of their society. He wanted
them to develop a national awareness of their rights and pride in their country’s heritage
and culture.
 Instilling Racial Pride and Dignity - The long period of colonial domination and the
constant humiliations and discrimination experienced by the Filipino people from their
colonial masters produced a feeling of inferiority and a lack of racial pride and dignity.
This attitude must give way to a restoration of the people’s sense of pride in them as a
nation. Rizal wanted to inculcate into his people an understanding of history, from
which, he believed sprang the roots of genuine nationalism. Without these roots,
nationalism would degenerate into a flippant, flag-waving category, which he criticized in
Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
 Promotion of National Consciousness - He wanted his people to dedicate their
thoughts, words and actions not solely to themselves as individuals but to themselves as
citizens of a nation. National consciousness is a key to the attainment of a better
society.
 Re-orientation of Values and Attitudes - The people must reorient their values and
attitudes in order to contribute to the task of nation building.
 Willingness to Sacrifice for the Country - Rizal emphasized that the task of nation
building is accompanied by hardships and sufferings which the people must inevitably
experience to bolster their courage. The sacrifices experienced by people strengthen
their bonds of unity and their sense of independence.
Dr. Rizal’s Blueprint for Nation Building
Dr. Rizal’s Plan of Action:

1. Organize a group of Filipino students in Madrid. They would form the nucleus of a
group that in the future would use their varied talents to work for solutions to the
Philippine problems.
2. Propose to them the writing of a book similar to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle
Tom’s Cabin” and Eugene Sue’s “The Wandering Jew” which would deal with the
various aspects of Filipino life. The book would be the project of the Circulo Hispano-
Filipino with each member contributing a chapter. (This book was entitled Noli me
Tangere, 1887.)
3. From the records in the vast Filipiniana collection of the British Museum, Rizal had
pieced together the past history of the Philippines which revealed that even before the
coming of the Spaniards, the Filipinos already had a developed culture. And of these
records, he chose to annotate Morga’s “Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas”. (Excerpt
from his dedicatory remarks: “It is necessary to first lay bare the past in order to better
judge the present and to survey the road trodden during three centuries.”)
4. He wrote “The Indolence of the Filipinos” which came out as a series of articles in La
Solidaridad from 15 July to 15 September, 1899.
5. Feared the possibility of the Filipinos resort to arms as a desperate means to fight, he
wrote “El Filibusterismo” to show his countrymen the price they should be willing to
pay and the problems they would have solve first before plunging the country to
revolution. He warned his countrymen to consider seriously its decision to revolt against
Spain if no reforms were granted.
6. He thought of showing the people how to organize themselves into a compact
homogeneous body in the Philippines. Rizal’s major plan of organization was the
establishment of La Liga Filipina (Philippine League).
7. When he was deported to Dapitan he had already accomplished a major part of a self-
imposed mission of redeeming the Filipinos from medieval colonialism. His exile
demonstrated the hero’s untiring efforts at continuing the program of action that he
relentlessly pursued for the realization of his blueprint of nation building. Establishment
of a school and a clinic therein, the community development projects he
undertook.
Dr. Rizal’s Program of Reforms:

 Political Reforms: Seek a self-reliant, self-respecting government and “a people’s
government made for the people, by the people and answerable to the people.”
o In his essay “The Philippines A Century Hence,” Dr. Rizal warned the Spanish
government that unless she provided a solution for the complaints of the
Filipinos, the people would one day revolt against Spain. Spain must have to
adopt measures to meet the conditions of her people in the Philippines. With
these, Rizal foresaw nationhood as the destiny of the Philippines.
o Among the political reforms Rizal advocated were:
 Representation of Filipinos to the Spanish Cortes; and,
 Freedom of the press.
 Educational Reforms: “Without education and liberty—the soil and the sun of
mankind—no reform is possible; no measure can give the desired result.”
o He advocated education as a necessary condition in a free society. He stated,
“With or without Spain, (if uneducated), they would always be the same and
perhaps worse! Why independence if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of
tomorrow?”
o Dr. Rizal believed in the effectivity of education as a solution to the political,
economic, and social problems of the country.
o Among the educational reforms advocated by Rizal were:
 Mass education for the people;
 Promotion of primary instructions; and,
 Establishment of schools of arts and crafts.
 Socio-Economic Reforms: “Consider socio-economic aspects in campaigning for
political reforms for I believed that such reforms would be meaningless if the people
remained in poverty.”
o Dr. Rizal stressed that the Philippine economic development would depend
largely on agricultural improvement, and the improvement of trade and industry
on the other hand.
 Moral Principles and Teachings: “Morality was the application of reason and
conscience to specific problems of behavior.”
o Dr. Rizal advocated a nonviolent revolution to foster change and nationhood
through cooperation.
o “Hate never produces anything but monsters and criminals. Love alone can
save”.

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RIZLW01

Week 13 Notes on Dr. Rizal and Nation Building

Rizal’s Concept on Nation Building

Dr. Rizal’s Blueprint for Nation Building

Dr. Rizal’s Plan of Action:

Dr. Rizal’s Program of Reforms:

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