The Quest of the Rizal Propaganda

Ever since his cruel execution, Dr. Jose Rizal has been continuously honored and admired as a national
hero and preeminent intellectual propagandist and author in his home country. It is highly evident on how
Filipinos consistently celebrates Rizal as a national hero due to his sacrifice to achieve Philippine
independence from the hands of the spaniards. Including the abundancy of his monuments and shrines
across the archipelago, and the constant mention of his name when talking about the Philippine history.
His legacies, works and nationalist movements has been also persistently studied among the youth. This
manifests how we overly glorify Rizal’s journey during the spanish colonialism. However, presumably
there is a lack of proper scrutiny on Rizal’s voyage as a propagandist. Which emerged criticisms While
we are in a repetitive admiration on his execution at Bagumbayan, which helped in awakening the
nationalism of the Filipinos during the spanish era, the principles of Rizal manifested on his works are not
that actively practiced in the modern era. However, we should not simply end there as admiration with the
lack of understanding is just hypocritical nationalism.

As Rizal grew matured enough, he witnessed and experienced the injustices from the political and
religious opression brought by the colonizers that seems to put the destiny of his people into danger.
Hence, that aspired him to revolt against them, and his weapon for revolution was not of armed guns but
rather that of the pen and the mind that was centered on awakening the nationalistic drive of his
homeland. 

The highlight of his propaganda began with his two known novels that became an essential apparatus for
Philippine independence which is Noli Me Tangere (1887) and El Filibusterismo (1891). Noli Me
Tangere was first published where the protagonist featured an idealistic outlook of Rizal for his fellow
countrymen. It conveyed more of his philosophies and principles towards the cruelty of the spaniards. On
the other hand, El FIlibusterismo is a sequel which began with the protagonist coming back with a
changed identity, manifesting anger and revenge drive by political motives towards the injustices brought
by the colonizers. Upon reflecting on both stories, El Filibusterismo has made a more profound impact on
awakening the nationalism of the Filipinos. The overpowering symbolism of the story attributes the
drawback of just merely waiting for justice, and Rizal thought that it would be the best to take the in one’s
own hands.

Moreover, Rizal ceaselessly seeked to free his homeland from the thralldoms of oppression controlled by
the spaniards. Hence, becoming a leader of Propaganda which is a reformist movement. La Solidaridad
became their voice and watchdog to plea for his fellow countrymen to be heard. 

Rizal has also studied the Philippine history for years to show beyond doubt that prior to colonization, his
homeland has a culture of their own and Filipinos are not inferior to any non-native. Since Filipinos are
known as hospitable creatures, colonizers and foreigner mistook it as being submissive making us
vulnerable to their mistreatments and injustices.

For his own constituents, Rizal spent his brief life being a propagandist to trigger the nationalistic drive of
his fellowmen and achieve the independence from the colonizers. The propagandist voyage of Rizal must
urge us to put into practice affirming being a Filipino first. This should urge us to stop beseeching for
colonizer validation and have self-respect as we are no inferior to any non-natives. The martyrdom of
Rizal should inspire us to progress for the sake of ourselves and our country.