Sunday, October 15, 2017

RIZALIAN PATRIOTISM FOR LIBERTY, PEACE AND PROSPERITY*

This is why, fellow Knights of Rizal, we study and spread Dr. Rizal’s teachings, by word and deed, with unity, perseverance, and vigilance, so that this multi-colored, multi-layered archipelagic Inang Bayan of 7,641 islands, shall stand as one, compact, dynamic whole, with self-confidence, self-esteem and dignity, always advancing to her moral and material development, with no more reasons: to cry, to be subservient, to doubt, to fear, or to be ashamed – and so that our fellow citizens are each worthy of liberty, peace and prosperity!

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Thank you Area Commander Sir Willie Mamucod for your kind words of introduction.

Our Supreme Commander, Sir Reynato S. Puno, Sr., KGCR,
Supremo Emeritus Sir Jerry Singson, KGCR,
Our respected Supreme Trustees: Sir Dave, Sir Ave, Sir Max, Sir Rene, Sir Rey, Sir Ennie;
Fellow Knights, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Liberty, Peace and Prosperity

The topic assigned to me is “Rizal the Patriot” which is contained within the theme “Patriotism for Liberty, Peace and Development”. Given these two sets of ideas, I would like to do a little re-statement and speak on “Rizalian Patriotism for Liberty, Peace and Prosperity”.

Our objectives are liberty, peace and prosperity; our strategic approach is Rizalian patriotism.

Let’s talk first about the objectives. There is a UN General Assembly Resolution which the Philippines co-signed that contains contemporary explanations of liberty or freedom, peace and prosperity. It is the UNGA Resolution of 25 September 2015 entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. 

On freedom or liberty, it envisions “a world free of poverty, hunger, disease and want, where all life can thrive”; envisages “a world free of fear and violence, a world with universal literacy”; and declares the determination “to end poverty and hunger in all their forms and dimensions, and to ensure that all human beings can fulfill their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment”. That’s a statement of freedom or liberty we can accept and work for.

On Peace, its Preamble states that: “We are determined to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.”

On Prosperity, the same Preamble declares that: “We are determined to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature.”

These definitions and intentions are in harmony with our own national development plans.

Patriotism as Love

For us Knights of Rizal, we want to approach them from the perspective of patriotism and I respectfully submit, it should be Rizalian patriotism.

In simple terms, patriotism is love of country. Being a form of love, let’s get to know the dual interpretations from which love derives.

In Matthew 34 to 40, the Pharisees gathered together and one of them (a scholar of the law) tested Jesus by asking: "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Logic would say: love God, love yourself, then love your neighbor. But why did the Lord omit the second logical step?

I believe Sirs and Ladies that the Lord speaks from a different logic; I think He treats each one of us - though endowed with free will - as part of Him, and we are all part of each other, being all sparks of the divine. So when He said “love God with all your heart, soul, mind,” he inclusively meant to love yourself as part of God; which explains why the first is like the second: love your neighbor as you love yourself (being part of God).

From this perspective, we can say there are two general types of love: (1) the at-one-ment with all, part-of-God type of LOVE, and (2) the egoistic, selfish, separate, am-better-than-others type of love.

And I submit to you, Sirs and Ladies: Dr Rizal’s love of country springs from the at-one-ment with all and part-of-God type of love.

This is why Rizalian patriotism is important for us. It rejects the illusion of being separate.

In the words of Franciscan Fr. Richard Rohr, “The root of violence is the illusion of separation - from God, from Being itself, from being one with everyone and everything.”

Rizalian Patriotism

Notice how Rizal felt one with his people.

In his “Farewell to 1883” Speech in Madrid, he said: “In my heart I have suppressed all loves, except that of my native land; in my mind I have erased all ideas which do not signify her progress; and my lips have forgotten the names of the native races in the Philippines in order not to say more than Filipinos”.

In his essay “Love of Country” published in La Solidaridad, 31 Oct 1890, he wrote: “It has been said that love is the most powerful force behind the most sublime actions; well then, among all the loves, that of country is the greatest, the most heroic, and the most disinterested”, and Dr. Rizal added: “…love of country is never effaced once it has penetrated the heart, because it carries with it a divine stamp which renders it eternal and imperishable”. 

But we have heard some say that we should not be patriotic as to discriminate against others, especially our non-Filipino fellow Knights, after all in the Fili, Dr Rizal had written that the word patriotism shall smack of fanaticism and he who would boast of patriotic virtues will undoubtedly be confined as a dangerously sick man, as a perturber of social harmony.

That argument is selective quoting. For the entire passage requires that five conditionalities should happen first before the “perturber” conclusion can stand. It says: “Some centuries hence [1] when mankind shall become enlightened and redeemed, [2] when there shall be no races, [3] when all peoples shall become free, [4] when there  shall be neither tyrants nor slaves, nor colonies nor metropolis, [5] when justice shall rule, and man shall become a citizen of the world, the cult of science alone shall remain, the word patriotism shall smack of fanaticism, and he who would boast of patriotic virtues will undoubtedly be confined as a  dangerous sick man, as a perturber of social harmony”. (El Filibusterismo; numbering supplied)

Moreover, Dr Rizal clarified in the same El Fili, that: “…however perfect humanity maybe, patriotism shall always be a virtue among the oppressed, because at all times it will signify love for justice, liberty, and dignity itself…”

This does not mean, however, that we are allowed to discriminate against our non-Filipino brother Knights. R.A. 646 in its Section 4 does not distinguish and simply says: “All persons of legal age and of good moral character and reputation, who are in sympathy with the purposes of the corporation, are eligible for active membership…” This provision gives substance to the tenet that every person is a divine spark and therefore entitled to love of neighbor as we love ourselves. Therefore, every Knight regardless race or creed is entitled to respect and treatment as an equally important member of the Organization.

Going back to how Rizal expressed his love for Inang Bayan, he wrote to the Spanish Governor and Captain-General on 21 Mar 1892, partly in this wise: “... the thought of my whole life has always been love of my country and her moral and material development…” Before that, in a letter to Mariano Ponce on 12 Oct 1888, he had declared: “I shall always be at the service of my country and what my fellow countrymen think I can do, I shall do”.

And in another letter to Mariano Ponce dated 27 July 1888, he urged: “Let this be our only motto: ‘For The Welfare Of The Native Land’. On the day when all Filipinos should think like M H del Pilar and like us, on that day we shall have fulfilled our arduous mission, which is the formation of the Filipino nation”.

Filipino Nation

Yes, Rizal and his friends in Spain and other parts of Europe fought for a Filipino nation. That was the bottom line. Reforms were the indispensable steps.

Thus, in the Fili, he predicted: “Tomorrow we shall be citizens of the Philippines whose destiny will be beautiful because it will be in loving hands. Oh yes! The future is ours, it is rosy. I see life stirring in these regions, so long dead and lethargic… I see towns rising along railways and factories everywhere and buildings like that at Mandaluyong…” (El Filibusterismo, p. 191)

This debunks certain assertions that Rizal was nothing but a reformist wanting continued attachment to Spain, because this talk about being citizens presumes a separate and independent republic! Remember, Spain was and is a Monarchy; their people are subjects, not citizens.

Loving hands to guarantee the nation’s beautiful destiny? We are now in the tomorrow of his era: are the hands of the majority of us “LOVING”? Regrettably, for most of us, NOT!  Rather, we labor under the prevailing value of: “paano natin mapagka-kwartahan ito, na di tayo mahuli” or just plain indifference.

Fellow Knights, “loving hands” are direly needed by our nation.

Multiplying "loving hands" is a main challenge, I submit, as we take patriotic actions and as we study and spread the teachings of the hero, to include the matter of having an industrialized nation.

Worthy of Rights and Liberties

In a letter to M H del Pilar of 22 June 1889, Dr Rizal argued for fearlessness, saying: “We… fight so that there may be more justice and more liberty, and for the sacred rights of man. We ask nothing for ourselves, we sacrifice everything for the common good, what more do we have to fear?”

And, to bring perspective on the tendencies towards licentiousness associated with freedom, he preached the concept of being worthy of liberties. Hence: “…I put as a premise (to liberties for our country) 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 (liberties)”. (Manifesto, 15 Dec 1896).For, to him: “Liberty is a woman who grants her favors only to the brave. Enslaved peoples have to suffer much to win her and those who abuse her lose her. Liberty is not obtained bobilis bobilis (without pain or merit), nor is it granted gratis et amore”. (Letter to Members of La Solidaridad).

He consciously chose to return to the country in face of the prospect of liquidation by the colonial oppressors, because he revealed: “I wish to show those who deny us patriotism that we know how to die for our duty and our convictions. What matters death if one dies for what one loves, for native land and adored beings?” (Message to Countrymen, HK, 20 June 1892, in sealed envelope)

For, he had asserted: “We die only once and if we do not die well, we lose a good opportunity which will never come up again… If one has to die, at least one must die in his own country, by his country, and for his country”. (Letter to Mariano Ponce, 9 July 1890)

He advocated maximimizing the use of our brains, cooperation, and self-respect: “I believe that nothing can redeem us except our brains” (Letter to M H del Pilar, 4 Apr 1890). “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”. (Letter To The Maidens Of Malolos). “A nation wins respect not by covering up abuses but by punishing them and condemning them.” (The Philippines Within A Hundred Years). “Lack of self-respect and excessive timidity invite scorn.” (Letter To The Maidens Of Malolos)

On the last point, author Robin Sharma wrote: “The greatest respect is self-respect. Lose that and all the success in the world means zero. If you don’t stand for anything, you’ll fall for anything. If you lack self-respect, you can expect to be treated as such. Living by your principles automatically informs how others should treat you. So start speaking to yourself with the respect you would offer to any great leader.”

With that in mind, it would be well for us to also remember Dr Rizal’s advice to the Members of the La Solidaridad in Barcelona, given that in our country injustice and criminality continue to reign. He wrote: “A great deal of integrity and much goodwill.  No one should expect rewards or honors for what he does. xxxxx …it is advisable for each one to do his duty just for its own sake and at best to expect to be later treated unjustly, because in anomalous countries, injustice is the prize for those who fulfill their duties.” (Letter to members of La Solidaridad in Barcelona)

Rizalian Patriotism Everyday

Remember that passage from the Upanishads that says watch your thoughts, for they become your words, that become your actions, that become your habits, that in turn become your character and will be your destiny?

Let’s keep these Rizalian thoughts and ideals in our hearts and minds everyday; for as Meister Eckhart said: “what we plant in the soil of contemplation we shall reap in the harvest of action”.

And remember: only actions bring results.

Rizal and the Duterte Administration

Speaking of actions, when my San Diego friend Atty Dabs Mama-o - who was a classmate of the President in the San Beda law school - asked me to join him in working for the Mayor in the service of OFWs, I immediately accepted. I had no reservations because I found in the President a fulfillment of a few lines in the poem of Dr. Jose Rizal entitled Miguel en Argamasilla de Alba, which if translated to English with substitution of Miguel with Rody, would read:

“Go then, Rody, and with your bright mind illumine your whole land and redeem the demented multitude; and like a pregnant cloud in flight so lofty, launch forth burning lightning to bring down the gods of insanity and let sprout the seeds of prosperity.”

Can we help the President redeem the multitudes of our people who have become demented and crazy about drugs and criminality?

Can we help him bring down the insane gods of corruption, abuse, and monopoly?

And can we help him make prosperity happen such that the poor are enabled to transcend the deep morass of inaction, unbelief and unwarranted entitlement?

Yes, Sir Knights, ladies and fellow Rizalists, I believe we can!

Especially if we strongly espouse his teaching that education and hard work allow people to have personalities of their own and become worthy of liberties.

In the Fili, he declared: “Our ills are due to ourselves; let us not throw the blame on anybody”.

And he urged: “…we should win our freedom by deserving it, exalting individual reason and dignity, loving the just, the good, the great, even dying for it. And when a people reaches that height, God will provide the arms, and the idols will fall, the tyrants will fall like a house of cards, and liberty will shine with the first dawn.” (excerpts from El Filibusterismo, 1891, pp.283-284)

Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022; Ambisyon Natin 2040

At this point, let’s bring our attention to the programs of the Duterte Administration, so as to “relevantize” our discussion.

The Philippine Development Plan (or PDP) 2017–2022 largely stems from the 10-point Socioeconomic Agenda. It is the first of four medium-term plans that will work towards realizing AmBisyon Natin 2040, the collective vision of Filipinos over the next 25 years.

For the first time in our history, succeeding administrations are bound by an over-arching vision: that of Ambisyon Natin 2040; also for the first time in our history, the National Security Plan was developed hand in glove with the Development Plan.

Ambisyon Natin 2040 posits the vision that by 2040 Filipinos will achieve their aspiration of a “matatag, maginhawa, at panatag na buhay.” Towards that goal, the PDP, with 21 Chapters, is aimed at laying a strong foundation for inclusive growth, a high-trust and resilient society, and a globally competitive economy.

The PDP 2017-2022 is structured along the pillars and intersecting strategies of: (1) malasakit (i.e., enhancing the social fabric and at-one-ment with the peoples’ pains), (2) pagbabago (i.e., inequality-reducing transformation to reduce those pains), and (3) patuloy na pag-unlad (i.e., increasing growth potential and upward spiral of equitable progress).

So here we see the convergence of a love of country from unity with the All in all, with the commitment to shift the nation to its true north direction, which we shall talk about later.

Rizalian Strategic Approaches

In moving towards the condition where every Filipino has “matatag, maginhawa at panatag na buhay”, I submit we can learn from Dr. Rizal an enabling maxim, an unstoppable attitude, and an unbreachable stanch.

The enabling maxim is his motto for the La Liga Filipina, which is “unus instar omnium”, a Latin phrase with three connotations in English, namely: “one like all, one equals all, one for all”. Notice how it fits the love of self as-part-of-God type of Love? Verily, we attain peace by oneness, not separateness. That is why the first aim of the La Liga Filipina was: “To unite the whole archipelago into one compact, vigorous, and homogenous body”. This is Rizalian at-one-ment.

The unstoppable attitude comes from the Chorus of Himno a Talisay which reads in part:

Firme y constante, siempre adelante, tu marcharas;
Tu victorioso, todo elemento, mar, tierra y viento, tu dominaras

Firm and constant, always advancing, you shall prosper;
You triumphant, all elements: sea, land and air, you shall master.

Matatag at matapat, palaging pasulong, ikaw ay magkamit ng kasaganaan;
Ikaw nananalo, lahat ng elemento: dagat, lupa’t hangin, iyong mapamahalaan.

Timgas ug makanunayon, punayng padayon, ikaw magmauswagon;
Ikaw madaugon, tanang elemento: dagat, yuta’g hangin imong dominahon.

From Himno a Talisay, then, we learn the relentless attitude: siempre adelante, always advancing, palaging pasulong, punayng padayon! This is the way the river reaches the sea, no matter how convoluted the way. This is Rizalian perseverance.

On the other hand, the idea of a strong defensive stanch can be gleaned from the Chorus of Himno al Trabajo which reads:

¡Por la patria en la Guerra,por la patria en la paz,
velará el Filipino,vivirá y morirá.

For the nation at war, for the nation in peace,
the Filipino shall stand guard, shall live and shall die.

Para sa bansa sa digmaan, para sa bansa sa kapayapaan,
ang Pilipino ay magtatanod, mabubuhay at mamamatay.

Alang sa nasud sa gubat, alang sa nasud sa kalinaw,.
ang Pilipino magbantay, mabuhi ug mamatay

So from Himno al Trabajo, we learn the firm and resilient stanch: velará el Filipino, the Filipino shall stand guard, ang Pilipino ay magtatanod, ang Pilipino magbantay! In other words, since all shall be involved in being alert and ready, nothing can get through. This is Rizalian vigilance.

As an aside, instead of having been largely indifferent to the happenings in their own City, if this defensive community alertness had been applied by the people of Marawi, would you think, perhaps, that the current terrible urban warfare there could have been prevented?

Anyway, Sir Knights, let’s learn and apply in our own daily lives these three tenets of: (1) at-one-ment, (2) perseverance, and (3) vigilance or alertness to threats to the nation and readiness to counteract them.

On the point of alertness, let’s converge Rizal’s dream of “an industrialized Philippines in loving hands” with the reminder from the First President of the US, George Washington, that: “to be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace”.

Contrary to some people’s perceptions, Rizal was not a peacenik; he just refused to go into battle that guaranteed defeat, which was the essence of his response to Pio Valenzuela in Dapitan. On this facet of history, please look up the memoirs of Dr Valenzuela detailing his conversation with Rizal and why, later in his testimony before the Court Martial, Valenzuela invented the story that Bonifacio got angry at the supposed cowardice of Rizal.  Read Agoncillo’s “Revolt of the Masses”, Chap X p. 366, and the blog –

Rizal’s deep seated and patriotic position in relation to conflict can be found in the lyrics of his Hymn to Talisay, which says in part:

“We are children who, though born quite late, have souls with vigorous character;                 
strong men we shall be in the future who’ll know how to guard their families.                     

“Children who, none can intimidate: not waves, nor hurricane, nor thunder;            
with speedy arm and serene feature, we can fight when in difficulties.  xxxx                           

“There is no darkness, no pitchblack night, nor fierce storm or typhoon that we dread;    
and should Satan himself come to sight, he shall be captured alive or dead.” xxxx

Our arms wield with skill and fine accord: the knife, the pen, the gardening hoe,       
the pickaxe, the rifle and the sword - companions of the strong fellow.                       

Worthy of Liberty, Peace and Prosperity

Fellow Rizalists, these three – united teamwork, united perseverance, united vigilance - are important parts of the Rizalian mindsets, attitudes and approaches; but what is the end game or vision for which Dr. Rizal so passionately advocated these strategies?

I submit, Sirs and Ladies, that it is the vision or shall we say his magnificent obsession - constituting, I submit, the true north port onwards to which the nation sails - that enabled him to stand so cool, calm, collected, with normal blood pressure in front of the firing squad.

Dr. Rizal expressed that obsession and true north direction in the Last Farewell in the stanza saying: “My dreams when a lad barely adolescent, my dreams when a young man already filled with vigor, were to see you one day, pearl of the seas of the orient, the dark eyes dry, the head held high unbent, without frowns, without wrinkles, without blushes of high color”.

This is why, fellow Knights of Rizal, we study and spread Dr. Rizal’s teachings, by word and deed, with unity, perseverance, and vigilance, so that this multi-colored, multi-layered archipelagic Inang Bayan of 7,641 islands, shall stand as one, compact, dynamic whole, with self-confidence, self-esteem and dignity, always advancing to her moral and material development, with no more reasons: to cry, to be subservient, to doubt, to fear, or to be ashamed – and so that our fellow citizens are each worthy of liberty, peace and prosperity!

Daghan kaayong salamat!
______________________

*Edited Speech of Sir Edwin D. Bael, KGOR, at the First Plenary Session of the Knights of Rizal 22nd Mindanao Area Special Assembly (MINDASA) on October 7, 2017, Big 8 Corporate Hotel, Tagum City; Revised to serve as part of the briefing materials for Knights of Rizal.     

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