Ideals of Rizal

• The ideals of Rizal can be considered a unique aspect of our history that gave inspiration to the
Filipinos a greater sense of dignity and human values and faith in their own country and
civilization. It became a powerful vehicle to provide enlightenment and awakening of a blind
people towards national progress.

• He portrayed his ideals in his writings and works.

• During the 19th century such concepts as democracy and nationalism gained much momentum
and triggered revolutionary changes in science, technology, justice, human rights, equality,
economics and politics.

• He believed that the Filipinos were not inferior as the Spaniards called “Indio” an only awakening
of their aspirations and spirit were needed to bring forth development.

• Rizal was inspired by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln’s political-diction “government of the
people, by the people, and for the people, and with the watchwords of the French revolution
“liberty, equality and fraternity”.

• He also emphasized Confucius philosophy. “Search in the nature of things, extend the boundaries
of knowledge, make the purpose sincere, regulate the mind, cultivate personal virtue, promote the
harmony of the family, govern the state and keep the world in peace.

• For Rizal, the moral and ethical principle regulate a wide range of human conduct not only to
promote peace and order but also to preserve human dignity.

• Rizal, cognizant about the prevailing conditions was influenced by various motives-his moral and
rational persuasions as well as his tendency to idealize- insisted non-violent means were more
acceptable, more reasonable and efficacious based on reason and justice.

On the Nationalism

• Nationalism- the devotion to the interests of one’s country is a means of existence.

• This is turn help the Filipinos survive through the ages no matter what political and economic
oppression they have to face.

• In the Fili, his characters were much eager to press for a Filipino nation. Simoun said: “ If they
refuse to teach you their language, the cultivate your own, make it more widely known keep alive
our native culture for our people and instead of aspiring to be a mere province, aspire to be a
 nation, develop an independent mentality so rights or customs, nor language the Spaniards may
ever feel at home here, or even be looked upon by our people as the fellow citizen but rather,
always as an invader, a foreigner and sooner or later you shall be free”.

• For Simoun, such a world can only be made after the elimination of tyrants and slaves among
nations.

• The Fili, he seemed to have advocated national independence for the Filipino.

• Rizal’s hesitations were clearly reflected in the words of Father Florentino: “ I do not mean to
say that our freedom must be won at the point of the sword. The sword now counts for very little
in the destinies of our times. But I do say that we must win our freedom by deserving it, by
improving the mind and enhancing the dignity of the individual, loving what is just and what is
good, what is great to the point of dying for it.”

• Nationalism is a banner of freedom proclaiming the national interests of the people, to be

promoted and safeguarded by themselves so that the fruits of their efforts and the wealth derived
from their God given resources shall accrue to them and thus enable all of our people to rise
above poverty and march on to prosperity and contentment and dignity.

Nationalism in Education

• Education can be powerful weapon in propagating nationalism.

• This will develop an anti-colonial, anti-imperialist orientations based on our historical experience
as a people.

• It also emphasize a critical study of the Philippine economy so that, as a people, we will learn to
be wary of economic progress proposed by foreign governments and institutions.

• Educating for nationalism means educating for a national and social purpose.

• Educating for nationalism means consciously educating Filipino to be Filipinos- Filipinos will
work for the Philippines and for the Filipino people.

• Our present educational system promotes pride in our beautiful land, our sampaguita, our Mayon
and Banawe, our smiling people. It promotes national identity or nationhood, but nationalism is
more than nationhood.
 • The Filipino people have the right to decide what kind of society they want, what is best for them.
They should strive to have the fullest political and economic independence to chart their own
future. This is the essence of nationalism.

On Moral Values

• Moral values can exist only in a free being and his voluntary human acts. By willingness to be
morally good, a man becomes good.

• Moral values is universal in the sense that what holds for an individual holds for all in the same
conditions and circumstances. Moral values implies obligation.

• Rizal, a man of powerful energy and intellectual endowments valued loyalty, filial devotion,
benevolence, love, faithfulness, justice, harmony and peace.

• Rizal had a penchant for describing the power structure which seemed to him unjust and thus
induced people to criminality and discontent. “The discontented, the criminal and the desperate
will follow you, but the people will stand apart, I would not follow you, but the people will stand
apart, I would not follow you myself; I would never resort to these extreme measures while I
could see some hope in men.” he made his major character in Fili point out the needed reforms:
radical reforms in the military, in the clergy, in the administration of justice… more respect for
human dignity, greater security for the individual, and less privileges for an organization which so
easily abuses them.”

On Cooperation

• Rizal at an early age was awakened to the necessity of cooperation among men and thus was a
forerunner to the United Nations and the other world efforts at peace keeping.

• He said: “He who wants to help himself should help others, because if he neglects others, he too
will be neglected by them. One midrib is easy to break but not a bundle of many midribs tied
together.” Rizal wanted so much to unite Filipino people.

• “Class war is not the cause of social progress. The cause of this disease is the inability to subsist,
and the result of the disease is war. What Karl Marx gained through his studies of social problems
was the knowledge of disease in the social progress.
 • Cooperation is working together for a common purpose. It exists among members of the family,
peers and friends by way of mutual sharing of efforts to achieve the desired goal.

• Rizal emphasized that cooperation as a social process in which people work together to achieve a
common goal and to share benefits.

• It is the continuous and common endeavors of two or more persons to perform a task or to reach a
goal that is commonly cherished. Cooperation starts in the family.

On Nation-building

• Nation-building was one of the magnificent obsessions of Rizal. After reading an article of
Marcelo H. Del Pilar, Rizal immediately wrote Mariano ponce. “On the day when all Filipinos
like him (Del Pilar) working for unity and like us, on that day we shall have fulfilled our arduous
mission which is the formation of the Filipino nation.”

• Rizal consistently fought for human dignity. “Deprive a man then of his dignity,” he warned,
“and you not only deprive him of his moral stamina but also you render him useless even to those
who want to make use of him.

• Every being in creation has his spur, his mainspring; man’s is his self-respect; take it away from
him and he becomes a corpse; and he who demands activity from a corpse will find worms.”

• In a letter to Father Pablo Pastells, Rizal rhapsodized: “To me, man is a masterpiece of creation,
perfect within his conditions, who cannot be deprived of any of his component parts, moral as
well as physical, without disfiguring and making him miserable.” “Man is not a brute, he is not a
machine. His aim is not merely to produce… His purpose is not to satisfy the passion of another
man. His object is to seek happiness for himself and his fellow men by following the road
towards progress and perfections.”

• For Rizal: “All reforms of a palliative character are not only useless but even injurious when the
government is confronted with evils that I need a radical remedy. In order for the Filipino to
progress it was essential for him to have a revolutionary spirit boiling in his veins because
“progress necessarily requires change. It implies the overthrow of the past… and the triumph of
new ideas over the old and accepted ones.”

• He emphasized on the importance of the livelihood of the people – its social welfare and
economic justice – as the foremost task in nation – building.
On Democracy

• The twin ideals of democracy and liberty, were emphasized by Rizal, carried reverberations
throughout the world especially in Asia.

• For this purpose, he did not hesitate to use the ordinary way of life to make his ideas clear.
“Liberty is not obtained without pain or merit, nor is it granted gratis at amore.”

• In a democracy, the supreme power is vested in the people. The political leader’s ultimate
concern should be the welfare of the majority, he willingly binds himself with the ideals of the
constitutions and the laws of the land and to observe righteousness and justice for the common
good.

• For political health of a country, a free and responsible free press is very important.

• Rizal used all persuasions to have Spain grant Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortes and
freedom of the press.

• Citing the example of Napoleon, he said, “If the Napoleon had not tyrannized over the press,
perhaps the press itself would have made him understand that the people were weary and the
world wanted peace… Spain herself records in her history more revolution during the period
when the press is gagged.

• Rizal was undoubtedly very idealistic, but his ideals were attainable. He proved this in his exile in
Dapitan where he played very successfully the roles of educator, physician, scientist,
businessman, artist and civic-spirited citizen.

On Education

• Rizal’s love for education since childhood was one of his lofty ideas. For him, “Without
education and liberty – the soil and sun of mindkind, no measure can give the desired result.

• To his friend Blumentrit, he wrote: “We shall devote our strength to the education of the Filipino
people, which is my supreme aspiration.” The supreme aspiration was a necessary condition in
the quest for national identity and progress.” I put as a premise the education of the people so that
through education and work they might have a personality of their own and make themselves
worthy of them.”
• Rizal emphasized the need of the people for education before they could aspire for freedom and
all the blessings it would bring. Without education, no reform is possible, that is no tranquility
and happiness are possible.

• “Our life is useful life which is not consecrated to a great idea. It is a stone wasted on the fields
without becoming a part of any edifice.”

• As Rizal put it, with the hour’s loss in their lives also went the “ loss of part of their dignity and
their self-respect and an increase of despair, resentment and aversion to studies.”

• From all these, Rizal was obsessed with the idea of education. Education for the masses,
education for the elite and also education for the women, as evidenced in his letter of praise to the
young women of Malolos whom they asked to be allowed to open a night school for girls. Of
special concern to Rizal was the education of Filipino women because they are the ones who
“awaken and prepare them ind of the child for every good and desirable idea- love for honor, love
for one’s fellowmen and respect for God.” He urged women to strengthen their hearts against any
danger because life is full of sorrows and perils.”

• As pointers in correct behavior, Rizal while in Dapitan taught his pupils the value of honesty,
truthfulness and good manners. He told the pupils to be good students in academic matters and
also trained them to be “gentlemen” in interpersonal relations. He stressed the importance of good
manners which was not a difficult task.
 OUTPUT
IN
LIFE AND WORKS
OF
RIZAL

Angelo R. Ellevera Mr.Danilo Nipas

AB-History II-A Instructor
Outline:

Ideals of Rizal

 On the Nationalism
 Nationalism in Education
 On Moral Values
 On Cooperation
 On Nation-building
 On Democracy
 On Education