Controversies in the Life of the Hero PDF

CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSIES Controversies in the life of the hero Prepared by: Duenas, Cristine Joy Guntan, Daniela Marie Reyes, Rosyl  Attempts to debunk legends surrounding Rizal, and the tug of war between free thinker and Catholic, have kept his legacy controver...

CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSIES Controversies in the life of the hero Prepared by: Duenas, Cristine Joy Guntan, Daniela Marie Reyes, Rosyl  Attempts to debunk legends surrounding Rizal, and the tug of war between free thinker and Catholic, have kept his legacy controversial. National Hero Status The confusion over Rizal's real stance on the Philippine Revolution leads to the sometimes bitter question of his ranking as the nation's premier hero. Made National Hero by Colonial Americans Some suggest that Jose Rizal was made a legislated national hero by the American forces occupying the Philippines. In 1901, the American Governor General William Howard Taft suggested that the U.S. sponsored Philippine Commission name Rizal a national hero for Filipinos. Jose Rizal was an ideal candidate, favorable to the American occupiers since he was dead, and non-violent - both favorable qualities which, if emulated by Filipinos, would not threaten the American rule or change the status quo of the occupiers of Philippine islands. Rizal did not advocate freedom for Philippines either. – Subsequently, the US- sponsored commission passed Act No. 346 which sets the anniversary of Rizal's death as a "day of observance." Renato Constantino writes Rizal as a "United States-sponsored hero" who was promoted as the greatest Filipino hero during the American colonial period of the Philippines – after Aguinaldo lost the Philippine- American War. The United States promoted Rizal, who represented peaceful political advocacy (in fact, repudiation of violent means in general) instead of more radical figures whose ideas could inspire resistance against American rule. Rizal was selected over Bonifacio who was viewed "too radical" and Apolinario Mabini who was considered "unregenerate.“ Made National Hero by General Aguinaldo Numerous sources quote that it was General Aguinaldo, and not the second Philippine Commission, who first recognized December 30 as "national day of mourning in memory of Rizal and other victims of Spanish tyranny. As per them, the first celebration of Rizal Day was held in Manila on December 30, 1898, under the sponsorship of the Club Filipino. The veracity of both claims seems to be justified and hence difficult to ascertain. However, most historians agree that a majority of Filipinos were unaware of Rizal during his lifetime, as he was a member of the richer elite classes. (he was born in an affluent family, had lived abroad for nearly as long as he had lived in the Philippines) and wrote primarily in an elite language (at that time, Tagalog and Cebuano were the languages of the masses) about ideals as lofty as freedom (the masses were more concerned about day to day issues like earning money and making a living, something which has not changed much today either). Teodoro Agoncillo opines that the Philippine national hero, unlike those of other countries, is not "the leader of its liberation forces". He gives the opinion that Andres Bonifacio not replace Rizal as a national hero, like some have suggested, but that be honored alongside him. Constantine analysis has been criticized for its polemics and inaccuracies. The historian Rafael Palma, contends that the revolution of Bonifacio is a consequence wrought by the writings of Rizal and that although the Bonifacio's revolver produced an immediate outcome, the pen of Rizal generated a more lasting achievement. Despite the lack of any official declaration explicitly proclaiming them as national heroes, Rizal, along with Bonifacio, remains admired and revered for their role in Philippine history. Heroes, according to historians, should not be legislated. Their appreciation should be better left to academics. Acclamation for heroes, they felt, would be recognition enough. Rizal's Role in the Philippine Revolution The outbreak of the Philippine Revolution in 1896, Valenzuela surrendered to the Spanish authorities and testified in military court that Rizal had strongly condemned an armed struggle for independence when Valenzuela asked for his support. Rizal had even refused him entry to his house. Bonifacio, in turn, had openly denounced him as a coward for his refusal. But years later, Valenzuela testified that Rizal had been favorable to an uprising as long as the Filipinos were well-prepared, and well-supplied with arms. Rizal had suggested that the Katipunan gets wealthy and influential Filipino members of society on their side, or at least ensure they would stay neutral. Rizal had even suggested his friend Antonio Luna to lead the revolutionary forces since he had studied military science. In the event that the Katipunan was discovered prematurely, they should fight rather than allow themselves to be killed. Valenzuela said to historian Teodoro Agoncillo that he had lied to the Spanish military authorities on Rizal's true stance toward a revolution in an attempt to exculpate him. Before his execution, Rizal wrote a proclamation denouncing the revolution. But as noted by historian Floro Quibuyen, his final poem Mi Ultimo Adios contains a stanza which equates his coming execution and the rebels then dying in battle as fundamentally the same, as both are dying for their country. Legacy Rizal was a contemporary of Gandhi, Tagore and Sun Yat Sen who also advocated liberty through peaceful means rather than by violent revolution. Coinciding with the appearance of those other leaders, Rizal from an early age had been enunciated in poems, tracts and plays, ideas all his own of modern nationhood as a practical possibility in Asia. In the Noli, he stated that if European civilization had nothing better to offer, colonialism in Asia was doomed. Though popularly mentioned, there is no evidence to suggest that Gandhi or Nehru may have corresponded with Rizal, neither have they mentioned him in any of their memoirs or letters. But it was documented by Rizal's biographer, Austin Coates who interviewed Jawaharlal Nehru and Gandhi that Rizal was mentioned, specifically in Nehru's prison letters to his daughter Indira. As a political figure, Jose Rizal was the founder of La Liga Filipina, a civic organization that subsequently gave birth to the Katipunan led by Andres Bonifacio, a secret society which would start the Philippine Revolution against Spain that eventually laid the foundation of the First Philippine Republic under Emilio Aguinaldo. He was a proponent of achieving Philippine self-government peacefully through institutional reform rather than through violent revolution, and would only support "violent means" as a last resort. Rizal believed that the only justification for national liberation and self- government was the restoration of the dignity of the people, saying "Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow?" Rizal, through his reading of Morga and other western historians, knew of the genial image of Spain's early relations with his people. In his writings, he showed the disparity between the early colonialists and those of his day, with the latter's injustices giving rise to Gomburza and the Philippine Revolution of 1896. The English biographer, Austin Coates, and writer, Benedict Anderson, believe that Rizal gave the Philippine revolution a genuinely national character; and that Rizal's patriotism and his standing as one of Asia's first intellectuals have inspired others of the importance of a national identity of nation-building. Several titles were bestowed on him: "the First Filipino", "Greatest Man of the Brown Race", among others. The Order of the Knights of Rizal, a civic and patriotic organization, boasts of dozens of chapters all over the globe. There are some remote-area religious sects who claim him as a sublimation of Christ. In September 1903, he was canonized as a saint in the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, however it was revoked in the 1950s. During his exile, he became a noted biologist, having discovered rare animal species, notably the Philippine Gliding Lizard. He sent specimens secretly to Europe and even proposed a binomial name for the creature (which is still used today). Historical Commemoration Although his field of action lay in politics, Rizal's real interests lay in the arts and sciences, in literature and in his profession as an ophthalmologist. Shortly after his death, the Anthropological Society of Berlin met to honor him with a reading of a German translation of his farewell poem and Dr. Rudolf Virchow delivering the eulogy. The Rizal Monument now stands near the place where he fell at the Luneta in Bagumbayan, which is now called Rizal Park, a national park in Manila. The monument, which also contains his remains, was designed by the Swiss Richard Kissling of the William Tel sculpture in Altdorf, Uri. The monument carries the inscription "I want to show to those who deprive people the right to love of country, that when we know how to sacrifice ourselves for our duties and convictions, death does not matter if one dies for those one loves - for his country and for others dear to him." The Taft Commission in June 1901 approved Act 137 renaming the District of Morong in the Province of Rizal. Today, the wide acceptance of Rizal is evidenced by the countless towns, streets, and numerous parks in the Philippines named in his honor. Rizal Shrine in Calamba, Laguna, the ancestral house and birthplace of Jose Rizal, is now a museum housing Rizal memorabilia, Tallest Jose Rizal statue in the world. Located in Calamba, Laguna, Rizal's hometown. It was inaugurated in 2011, synchronous on the 150th Birth Celebration of the hero. Republic Act 1425 passed in 1956 by the Philippine legislature requiring all high school and college curricula a course in the study of his life, works and writings. Monuments erected in his honor can be found in Madrid; Tokyo; Wilhelmsfeld, Germany; Jinjiang, Fujian, China; Chicago; Cherry Hill Township, New Jersey; Honolulu; San Diego; Mexico City, Mexico; Lima, Peru; Litomerice, Czech Republic; Toronto; and Montreal, Quebec, Canada A two-sided marker bearing a painting of Rizal by Fabian de la Rosa on one side and a bronze bust relief of him by Philippine artist Guillermo Tolentino stands at the Asian Civilizations Museum Green marking his visits to Singapore in 1882, 1887, 1891 and 1896.  A Rizal bronze bust was erected at La Molina district, Lima, Peru, designed by Czech sculptor Hanstroff, mounted atop a pedestal base with four inaugural plaque markers with the following inscription on one: "Dr. José P. Rizal, Héroe Nacional de Filipinas, Nacionalista, Reformador Political, Escritor, Lingüistica y Poeta, 1861-1896." A plaque marks the Heidelberg building where he trained with Professor Becker while in Wilhemsfeld. There is a small Rizal Park in that city where a bronze statue of Rizal stands. The street where he lived was also renamed after him. A sandstone fountain in Pastor Ullmer's house garden where Rizal lived in Wilhelmsfeld, was given to the Philippine government and is now located at Rizal Park in Manila. Throughout 2011, the National Historical Institute and other institutions organized several activities commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Rizal, which took place on June 19 of that year. Thankyou!