Rizal the Subversive

903 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The world and the Philippines during Rizal's time

Rizal as a Rational Thinker

During his life, Jose Rizal was described as a heretic and subversive, an enemy of both the Church and Spain. He has made tremendous contributions to the progress of the Filipino society. His political works and essays, being anti-clerical and anti-colonial, frankly aimed to expose the maladies of his time and cure the Philippines of what he calls “the social cancer”. Rizal had been the progressive radical thinker, and promptly answered the ailing call of his Motherland, who cries for a cure.

Rizal had been a subversive in his own time. The Church had him excommunicated, and the Spaniards had him imprisoned, and then executed in Bagumbayan. However, that does not mean that he will always be a subversive, provided that he lives in a time aside from his, as if it really is his own identity, rather than an act or decision based on the call of situations and events. And in the first place, Rizal did not go to Europe just to harbor revolutionary ideas from the people there. He sought knowledge in foreign lands, so that he may use it and the Filipinos may benefit from it. Rizal did not intentionally want to make waves or a revolution, at all situations and regardless of events. And if he really favored revolution, that would be because of necessity. Rizal is a rational thinker, will surely analyze the situations first, and then make decisions based on his analyses, just like what doctors do when treating their patients.

Throughout the entire article, one could often read the communistic word, “struggle”—struggle against foreign tyranny, against the ruling class, etc. This was what Jose Ma. Sison was aiming at since the start. He believed that individual freedom can only be achieved through national freedom and that political unity could only be gained by removing all foreign threats to it. Then, he calls for a revolution, a Philippine Revolution, so that all the struggles that the mass is currently facing, according to him, will be finally put to an end.

Perhaps Sison is missing a point in this one simple thing: that this world is not perfect, and in every aspect of the society, there would always be a weakness. It is true that a revolution could end the situation, but how many revolutions? In this state of frailty and weakness, the Philippines could no longer afford another radical revolution.

Show More
Related

  • Book Review: A Way Of Duty by Joy Day Buel and Richard Buel, Jr.

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...can Revolution had led the new generation to change the main concentration of their outlook on life from a hopeful look toward eternity to a precise eye for worldly gain. She challenged her sons to not abandon their strict upbringing in the face of the secular influence. One example is when she confronted her eldest son, Jose, when he decided to exercise his right as the oldest and took a double share of the inheritance. She reminded him that although civil law allowed it, God's law required that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

    Read More

  • The Life of Cesar Chavez

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    Francisco Franco (1892-1975) was a lifelong military leader. He rose through the ranks until the early 1930s, when he found himself, a right-wing monarchist, in the middle of a left-wing republic. He was demoted, but later rose up again, and by 1935 he had been named chief of staff of the Spanish Army, a position he used to get rid of left-wing figures and their military institutions. When the left- wing social and economic structure of Spain began to fall, Franco joined the rebellion. He soon led an uprising and took control of Spain after the Spanish Civil War (1939). From then unti...

    Read More

  • Summary Of We Took The Streets By Miguel Melendez

    674 Words  | 2 Pages

    Miguel Melendez’s book, “We Took the Streets” provides the reader with an insightful account into the activities of the Young Lords movement established in the latter years of the 1960s and remained active up until the early seventies. The book’s, which is essentially Melendez’s memoir, a recollection of the events, activities, and achievements of the Young Lords. The author effectively presents to the reader a fascinating account of the formation of the Young Lords which was a group of college students from Puerto Rico who came together in a bid to fight for some of the basic rights. As Melendez sums it up, “You either claim your history or lose authority over your future” (Melendez 23). The quote is in itself indicative of the book’s overall

    Read More

  • The New White Man's Burden

    1547 Words  | 4 Pages

    Miller, Stuart C. “Letter from New York-Born Soldier.” Benevolent Assimilation: The American Conquest of the Philippines, 1899-1903. New Haven, CT: Yale University, 1982. 88. Print.

    Read More

  • Simon Bolivar's Jamacian Letter

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    Captivation or being restrained due to certain circumstances that prevents free choice is usually one of many great reasons to form revolutionary ideas. To get from captivation to liberation, one must consider change, a major component needed in order to gain freedom after enslavement. Latin America, in the eighteen hundreds, sought the need for change due to the resentment of the Spanish rule. Simon Bolivar, the revolutionary leader of Latin America, will seek independence from Spain. It was in Jamaica where Bolivar wrote a letter known as the “Jamaican Letter”, one of Bolivar’s greatest proposals. The letter emphasizes his thoughts and meanings of the revolution while envisioning a variety of governmental structures, of the New World, that could one day be recognized.

    Read More

  • To What Extent Was Brutality Used by Fidel Castro During the Cuban Revolution

    1456 Words  | 3 Pages

    “A revolution is not a bed of roses ... a revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past.” – Fidel Castro, 1961. This statement was certainly true for Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries during the Cuban Revolution, an armed revolt that took place between July 26th 1953 and January 1st 1959, which ended successfully. During this revolt, many of Fidel Castro’s fellow revolutionaries were killed in this process of violent revolution (My Life, p133, 2006). However, Castro and his accompanying revolutionaries, of which he was the leader, also caused their fair share of deaths using brutality in the name of revolution and political justice. Using various combat tactics, the most prominent being guerrilla warfare, the Cuban Revolution was certainly won through the use of violence and brutality.

    Read More

  • Malcom X's The Ballot of the Bullet

    1670 Words  | 4 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... You don’t have a revolution in which you love your enemy, and you don’t have a revolution in which you are begging the system of exploitation to integrate you into it. Revolutions overturn the systems. Revolutions destroy the systems.”

    Read More

  • America's Role In The Spanish-American War

    1655 Words  | 4 Pages

    The scene is set; America is the great power in the western hemisphere. Post Spanish-American War, America is faced with a dilemma of annexing the Philippines. In the winter of 1899 following the annexation of the Philippines, America had a problem. Filipinos had been fighting for independence from Spain and did not want to be seceded (83). Despite the Filipino objection, the United States displayed their assertion on the land. In conflict, both the Filipinos and American had many meetings with death. There were consequences and repercussions from invoking the American power on this foreign land. The American victory in the Spanish-American War helped propel the nation. Thesis: Although met with conflict from the natives, the

    Read More

  • The Afro-Cuban Struggle for Equality

    1507 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jose Marti, in his idealistic pursuit for a free Cuba, envisioned a revolution that would not only allow Cubans to gain their independence from Spain, but also a revolution that would revitalize and redefine the Cuban social structures. This sentiment was indeed shared by the many Afro-Cubans who joined the ranks of the Liberation Army en masse in order to rebel against Spanish racism and inequality. In fact, as Helg states, "although few orientales were able to leave written testimony of their motivation to join the insurgency, their goal was probably not only independence from Spain but also the creation of a new society in which they would fully participate" (p. 57). Besides the Afro-Cuban motivations of ceasing racism and inequality were the motivations of members from other factions of society such as the landless peasants who desired land, the popular cabecillas who strove for political authority, and the orientales who fought to gain control of their regions destiny. This war for independence had the potential to become a social revolution, a revolution that would ultimately seek to alter the status quo of Spanish colonial order with its strict social and racial hierarchy. However, this social revolution never truly came into fruition for the many Afro-Cubans who fought and died en masse.

    Read More

  • The Mexican Revolution

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Mexican Revolution began November 20th, 1910. It is disputable that it extended up to two decades and seized more than 900,000 lives. This revolution, however, also ended dictatorship in Mexico and restored the rights of farm workers, or peons, and its citizens. Revolutions are often started because a large group of individuals want to see a change. These beings decided to be the change that they wanted to see and risked many things, including their lives. Francisco “Pancho” Villa and Emiliano Zapata are the main revolutionaries remembered. These figures of the revolution took on the responsibility that came with the title. Their main goal was to regain the rights the people deserved. The peons believed that they deserved the land that they labored on. These workers rose up in a vehement conflict against those opposing and oppressing them. The United States was also significantly affected by this war because anybody who did not want to fight left the country and migrated north. While the end of the revolution may be considered to be in the year of 1917 with the draft of a new constitution, the fighting did not culminate until the 1930’s.

    Read More

  • Women's Rights in Mexico

    2087 Words  | 5 Pages

    A revolution occurs when a need for drastic change is necessary to alter ones way of living. The change they are fighting for would end up to be a positive impact once victory prevails, but of course with every battle there are disagreements and violent quarrels. Revolution may seem to be a negative connotation, but there are always two sides to every story. Just like many other countries around the world a Latin American country called Mexico went through a revolution of their own. Although the Mexican Revolution was mainly fought for the distribution of land, it opened a gateway for the women. One of their main issues during the Mexican revolution dealt with women and their struggled determination for equality. Having many roles in society with restrictions placed upon them, an urge for mobilization, and a wonderfully strong woman role model named Hermila Galindo, it gave them all a reason for the extra push they needed for the change they wanted for the future. Being able to finally put their voice in action the women of Mexico fought proudly for what they believed was right.

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Civil Disobedience

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    Our struggle is not easy, and we must not think of nonviolence as a safe way to fight oppression, the strength of nonviolence comes from your willingness to take personal risks in Kohlberg’s moral stage 5 moral rights and social contract is explained in this political analysis on governmental power and the antiapartheid and central America work when they led protest on campuses with hundreds being arrested and 130 campus withdrawals.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of 'In The Time Of The Butterflies' By Julia Alvarez

    842 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom is courage.” In America, Americans are blessed to have the right to freedom. Unlike other unfortunate countries, their freedom is limited. In many Latin American countries, the government’s leader has all power of the Country. Citizens have no rights to freedom, they are trapped in a cruel country where innocent people are killed each day. Civilians fear to speak out to the regime of leader; However, there were a few courageous citizens enough to speak out against the government. For example, “The Censors” by Luisa Valenzuela and the historical fictionalized account, “In The Time Of The Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez reveal individual 's role in overcoming oppression.

    Read More

  • Spanish Civil War

    2213 Words  | 5 Pages

    The conflict that arose in the 1930s and 40s in Spain can be defined as the struggle between the two ideologies of Spanish society; the traditionalists who wanted to hold on to conservative catholic values and the republicans who sought to embrace the wave of progressive modernism that had already swept through most of the western world. Spain was once the world’s most powerful empire, but due to clashing political beliefs, a broken and ever changing political system, and a destroyed economy, by the late 1800s it had fallen apart into a divided country where chaos ruled. Thousands lived in complete poverty and misery, working jobs that could not support their growing families. Infant mortality skyrocketed as the economy plunged. While the economy went from one crisis to another, the people began to protest the draconian censorship of the government, forcing the militaristic dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera to step down. His resignment resulted in the country’s first real step towards democracy, the Second Spanish Republic. During the municipal elections, new radically ideological politocal parties began to emerge, both on the extreme left and right wings. The right wing parties were supported by the monarchists, upperclass, conservatives, and the catholic church. However, among these parties was the small, yet rapidly growing facist falange party created by Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, son of the former dictator and a man who would have astounding influence on the lives of thousand of people, even long after his death. The falange sought to restore Spain to its former glory under the rule of one pow...

    Read More

  • The Contributions Of The Legal Philosophy Of Baruch Spinoza

    1674 Words  | 4 Pages

    Spinoza lived in the 1600’s; at a time though liberalism and tolerance were not scarce, was ridden with religious conflict and persecution, and the political authority of the church. However in the present day, as civilization matured and progressed, liberalism as that evoked by rationalism, democracy, free speech, and the subordination of religion to the state has become, arguably, the ideal and even declared as badges of humanity. This paper shall present an exposition on Spinoza’s philosophy, in the light of the modern-day Philippine society.

    Read More

More about Rizal the Subversive

Open Document