The View from Rizal (June 19, 2011)

THE VIEW FROM RIZAL

Gov. Jun Ynares, M.D.

June 19, 2011

“Disliking” Rizal

Today is the 150^th birthday of our national hero.

So, it is expected that it will be raining with praises and tribute for Dr. Jose Rizal today. As expected, there will be sermon-like calls to every living Filipino to follow Dr. Rizal’s example to be “always ready to die for one’s country”.

Unfortunately, that is a message that may not resonate with today’s young generation which is more focused on “living the life”. They are more obsessed with the excellence shown in the hard-court by the likes of Lebron and Dirk around who center their debates and disagreements. When one listens to their conversation, Dr. Rizal would be nothing more than another face on a peso bill or another figure on a lifeless statue.

I decided that instead of adding to the chorus of platitudes for the national hero today, I would ask young people why Dr. Rizal’s character and philosophy do not appear to have much appeal to their generation.

Here are some answers from young people born more than a century after the national hero’s first birthday.

1.      “He is such a nerd.” They are right. If Dr. Rizal belonged to today’s young generation, he would be cast as the school nerd. Reason: he had too much passion for learning. Historian Ambeth Ocampo once wrote that Dr. Rizal has listed down more than 2,000 books which he read, studied and consulted. Read 2,000 books? Today’s young generation would prefer to have 2,000 friends on Facebook. But reading 2,000 books may really just be too “nerdy” for comfort.

2.      “He is such a heartthrob.” That’s the other “bitter” reality. If Dr. Rizal belonged to today’s generation, he would be the “nerd who gets all the girls”. Historians may not have fully explained why Dr. Rizal appears to be so good at winning women. And, we are not just talking about the beauties who come from his hometown. It is a fact that Dr. Rizal loved and was loved by women from western countries and from our Asian neighbours.

The irony is that Dr. Rizal was not much of a “hunk” and definitely may not have qualified to be a billboard model for stone-washed jeans. But why did he “get all the girls” as the expression goes?  It appears that by today’s standard, Dr. Rizal would not fit into the category of “cool”. Neither would he be “hot”. He would just be plain “nerd”. But he would have gotten the “chicks” nevertheless.

3.      “He is such a mama’s boy.” This fact is beyond debate. Dr. Rizal’s closeness to his mother is a fact of history. Doña Teodora Alonzo figured prominently in Dr. Rizal’s life. Her ordeal in the hands of colonial authorities may have sparked much of the anger within Dr. Rizal’s heart. She may have also inspired much of the excellence within her son – yes, she was the lady whom Dr. Rizal, the ophthalmologist was treating in that famous photographic depiction.

What appears to really rile up the advocate of “cool” is the fact that Doña Teodora also figured prominently in Dr. Rizal’s last moments. If we got our historical facts right, she was supposed to have been there at Fort Santiago, hours before the fateful December execution day.

A nerd who gets all the girls and who’s also a mama’s boy. How “un-cool” by today’s standard.

4.      “He is such a meddler.” Everyone knows this. Dr. Rizal can’t “mind his own business”. He was also busy minding everyone else’s troubles. He hated it that everyone in his country lived under an “un-cool” government run by foreigners. You could see that his mind was bothered by the troubles of others when he wrote about the likes of Sisa, Crispin and Basilio in his book. Couldn’t he have written a nice love story instead? Couldn’t he have just worried about his own troubles instead?

If Dr. Rizal belonged to today’s young generation, his Facebook profile and blogsite would be described as “eeeww”. His postings would be on corruption in government or the plight of oppressed people or about the latest book he read. Un-cool. The preferred postings would be about “hangover”, “being single”, “liking the Mavs”, or “Boracay here I come”.

But tweeting on Thomas a Kempis’ book “Imitation of Christ”? Do I hear a loud “eeewww”?

5.      “He is such a loser.” Yup. True. Loser. He lost his life. His enemies put one over him. He got thrown out into a far-away place. They got him jailed with a bogus trial. Then they marched him down to Luneta and shot him in broad daylight. Yuck. Loser. Un-cool.

Nerd. Heartthrob. Mama’s boy. Meddler. Loser. Okay, fine.

But here’s the question. Why is it that despite the “un-coolness” of Dr. Rizal’s character, he remains the most revered Filipino personality even until today? His life and books are the most studied, and his profile – wavy hair and all – is the most familiar?

And why is it that he has a lot of places in the country named after him, including one of the country’s provinces? And why is it that when one thinks of the word “great”, the possibility is high that Dr. Rizal’s name would be mentioned in the same breath?

That’s a question I would leave today’s “cool” young generation to answer for themselves.

But let me venture a guess as to why it is so easy to “dislike” Dr. Rizal.

I guess, it’s because he challenges. He dares. Without saying it.

He dares others to read as many books as he had. To be as lovable as he was without trying too hard to be a “hunk”. To love one’s mother and be inspired by her to excel (most of us would rather quarrel with our moms to appear “cool”). To look outside of the four walls of one’s life and “meddle” in those of others (ergo, un-selfish).

And to have to ability to go beyond our fears and have the courage to be a “loser”, meaning one who is ready to “lose” one’s life for something bigger than earthly life.

When I feel I can’t live up to a dare, I just end up “disliking” the source of the challenge. That’s a normal human reaction. That’s preserving the ego.

Yup, Dr. Rizal “dares too much”, threatens our egos too much, makes us too uncomfortable.

He is “un-cool”, indeed.

Happy birthday to the greatest “nerd”, “heartthrob”, “mama’s boy”, and “meddler” who was ever born in our country.

And, “loser”, too. Lost his life for country and countrymen.

Go ahead. Say, “eeeewww”. I won’t.

Feedback: provinceofrizal@yahoo.com

Originally published in The Manila Bulletin (June 19, 2011)