"YOUR YOUTH VOICES"

Do we still remember the birth date of our National Hero?I think only a few remembered that every June 19 is the birth anniversary of Dr. Jose P. Rizal. It is his 148th birthday to be exact.

I asked several people yesterday of why June 19 is important to us Filipinos. No one answered me as expected. We don't have a celebration or any event commenced to the birth of our national hero in our school. It was just an ordinary day.

Philippine Instruction (Life and Works of Rizal) instructor Junley Lazaga said people often forget about Rizal’s birthday because it was his death which had earned him the title of being a hero. He added that this neglect is rooted on the axiom, “Heroes are made not born.”sunstar

“He wasn't born a hero. He was declared a hero upon his death,” Lazaga reiterated.

He explained that Rizal’s death is more important than his birth to the history of the Philippines.

For her part, Professor Dazzelyn Zapata said Rizal’s death date is often celebrated more than his birth because he had proven his worth and has contributed much to the Philippines.

Dr. Rizal and his elder brother Paciano, witnessed the execution of Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora in 1872. On the way home, they made a pact that he would dedicate his life to free their country while Paciano would take care of his studies and their family. “Without 1872,” Dr. Rizal recalled the impact of this event on him, “there would not be now either a Plaridel or Jaena or Sanciangco. Without 1872, Rizal would be a Jesuit now and, instead of writing Noli Me Tangere, would have written the opposite.”

His sojourn in Spain sealed his fate with Bagumbayan. “My perdition began in Spain,” wrote Dr. Rizal acknowledging Spain’s liberal traditions led him to endeavor that the same liberal traditions be implanted in his country. Thus he championed the highest ideals of the civilized world -– the worth and dignity of the individual, the inviolability of human rights, and the equality of all men and races.

His works impressed upon the colonial masters the inevitable operation of historical lessons. “No rule by one country over another lasts forever,” he declared in his essay “The Philippines A Century Hence.” His Noli Me Tangere awakened his countrymen from their lethargy that if they did nothing against their oppression, they would remain slaves forever. His El Filibusterismo warned the colonial masters that the Filipino people would violently separate their country from Spain if nothing was done to redress the people’s sufferings. His La Liga Filipina suggested the means to avoid such violent separation. The colonial masters were deaf to his warnings. The rest is history.

June 19, 1861, is a great day that the Filipino people should proudly celebrate. This date represents the first pulse of a great life, the dawn of a grand era, and the first spark that lighted freedom for the downtrodden Filipinos.

Our observance of Dr. Jose P. Rizal’s 148th Birth Anniversary demonstrates our respect and admiration for him as well as our awareness of the lessons he bequeathed to us. A people who honor and remember their heroes are a people who would never consent to be enslaved by others.www.mb.com.ph