Veneration Without Understanding is an article written by Renato Constantino who expresses and states what a real hero possess. It is not Dr. Jose Rizal who is the leader of our revolution but Bonifacio who thought of starting the KKK to fight for the real freedom. In no uncertain terms he placed himself against Bonifacio and those Filipinos who were fighting for the country’s liberty. The Philippine Revolution has always been overshadowed by the omnipresent figure and the towering reputation of Rizal.
Because Rizal took no part in that Revolution and in fact repudiated it, the general regard for our Revolution is not as high as it otherwise would be. On the other hand, because we refuse to analyze the significance of his repudiation, our understanding of Rizal and of his role in our national development remains superficial. This is a disservice to the event, to the man, and to us. Rizal never advocated independence, nor did he advocate armed resistance to the government. He urged reform from within by publicity, by public education, and appeal to the public conscience.
Without Rizal there may have been a delay in the maturation of our libertarian struggle, but the economic development of the period would have insured the same result. Rizal maybe accelerated it. Rizal may have given form and articulation and color to the aspirations of the people. But even without him, the nationalist struggle would have ensued. This is likewise true in the case of present-day national liberation movements. The fundamental cause of mass action is not the utterances of a leader; rather, these leaders have been impelled to action by historical forces unleashed by social development.
We must therefore not fall into the error of projecting the role of the individual to the extent of denying the play of these forces as well as the creative energies of the people who are the true makers of their own history. Rizal’s intellectual excellence paved the way for the winning of the name for the natives of the land. People must not blame Rizal for being the Philippine national hero because they are not in the position of Dr. Jose Rizal who thought of changing the lives of the Filipinos who became the slaves of the Spaniards.
He never thought of the consequence but instead, he continued to fight because he trusts himself that he could make a change out of his intelligence. What Rizal’s main purpose is for liberty, without abuses, the country was a peaceful country and all are working for the purpose of country’s progress and not the independence which means to stand as one country. This article portrays that we must know the strengths and weaknesses of our national hero. We must not stick to what was their declared name.
We are all regarding Dr. Jose Rizal as one of our role models. We look up to him and “praise” him for that slight contribution he did for us to gain colonial independence. It was so surprising, however, that there are, still, a lot of things that we do not know about him and what really happened during his existence. Constantino was right when he made mention of how we are blinded by our adoration of how great Rizal was…of how martyr he was…of how he died for our country through unjust execution by the Spaniards.
