CHARACTER GOAL
“AS I WILL BE A MASTER TO NO ONE SO I WILL NOT BE A SLAVE OF ANYONE.”
-- Abraham Lincoln, My Idea of Democracy
To be honest and fair both to them (the foreign investors and colonizers) and to us, and to apply the law of God and Christ (“You shall love your neighbor as yourself), I think that in this case, we do not love ourselves enough! In that we have allowed others to exploit and oppress us!
Rizal has an interesting statement about this. In his letter to the brave women of Malolos, which by extension to all Filipino women, Rizal urged and urges them to be women who can produce children who are no longer slaves (employees, utilities).
And to achieve this aim, he enumerated 7 principles of freedom, to wit:
First, that the tyranny of some is possible only through the cowardice and negligence on the part of others.
Second. What makes one [e.g., the Filipino] contemptible is [his] lack of dignity and [his] abject fear of him [e.g., the Spaniard, the colonizer] who holds one [i.e., the Filipino] in contempt.
Third. Ignorance is servitude, because as a man thinks, so he is; a man who does not think for himself and allowed himself to be guided by the thought of another is like the beast led by a halter [to make it stop when commanded “wat!” and continue when commanded “do!”. Precisely like our carabao!].
Fourth. He who loves his independence must first aid his fellowmen, because he who refuses protection of others will find himself without it. The isolated rib of the buri palm is easily broken, but not so the broom made of the ribs of the palm bound together.
Fifth. If the Filipina will not change her mode of being (e.g., ignorant and improperly humble, subservient to the wrong persons and not towards God), let her rear no more children, let her merely give birth to them. She must cease to be the mistress of the home, otherwise she will unconsciously betray husband, children, native land and all.
Comment: This is unfortunately fulfilled but at what a price! Because our women (mothers and wives) are weak, they failed to mold strong men able to provide fully the needs of the family and protect the family from the debilitating sins and vices and their crippling effects: poverty, sickness, marital and family disintegration, and other harms. Result: it is the woman who is forced to go out and look for a living as far as the Middle East and the far West! She no longer rears her children, she merely gave birth to them! But how worse is her replacement: inept maid or the incompetent father.
Sixth. All men are born equal, naked, without bonds. God did not create man to be a slave; nor did He endow him with intelligence to have him hoodwinked, or adorn him with reason to have him deceived by others. It is not fatuous to refuse to worship one’s equal, to cultivate one’s intellect, and to make use of reason in all things. Fatuous is he who makes a god of him[self], who makes brutes of others, or the one who strives to submit to his whims all that is reasonable and just. [or fatuous is he who makes a man his god].
Seventh. Consider well what kind of religion they are teaching you. See whether it is the will of God or according to the teachings of Christ [who teaches] that the poor be succored [not exploited] and those who suffer alleviated. Consider what they are preaching to you, the obkect of the sermon [e.g., is it intended for you to be submissive to the wrong authorities and wrong teachings instead of submission to Christ and His teachings?], what is behind the masses, novenas, rosaries, scapularies, images, miracles, candles, belts, [the narcotizing songs], etc.; which they daily keep before your minds [to be dulled from resistance and dulled from comprehending the truths], ears and eyes; jostling, shouting and coaxing; investigate whence they came and whither they go and then compare that religion with the pure religion [of Christ which “God our Father accepts as pure and faultless,” which the apostle James described as one which is active – “one that looks after the widows and orphans in their distress and keeps oneself from being polluted by the world [that is, its evil ways and desires] – compare that religion to the pure religion of Christ and see whether the pretended observance of the life of Christ does not remind you of the fat milch cow or the fattened pig, which is encouraged to grow fat not through love of the animal , but for grossly mercenary motives!
Remarks: It refers to those who gives you friendship or “service” or offer to be your benefactor, or lender, only to devour you. The Lord has a strange statement about this service for a selfish end: “Service should be given in love and with true brotherly feeling, as is customary in the heavens. Do not follow the evil inhabitants in hell who serve out of selfishness, for everyone there expects to be served. They are like the story of the turtle and the hawk. The hawk first eagerly helps the turtle out of its mud-hole in the meadow, only to be grabbed by the hawk in its neck during its search for herbs, carried aloft and smashed into a rock. Why did the hawk do that? So that she can enjoy the turtle’s flesh as a reward for its previous eagerness to help. My, children, do not do that!”[1]
I tell you, the time when Rizal’s Letter to the Brave Women of Malolos is most relevant is NOW! It is more relevant now than it was for the Malolos girls in his time. Now, but sadly, now seems to be too late! It surely is no longer the “best timing”! Our women should have listened to Rizal decades ago. Then, we would be surely reaping now the fruit that Rizal desired, namely: brave un-slaveable free strong men!
But the church, the schools and the government hid this letter from public’s comprehension! It is true it is there in public textbook, but merely as an appendix and in so hard-to-read small fonts – who would find the interest to read it if the professor also skips it?
What a grave mistake!
Let us not be too humble. Let us not be too submissive. Let us not be submissive to the wrong authorities! God and Christ is the true authority. To him must we submit and to his bona fide representatives. If such representative deviates from His holy will, then, such a representative has ceased to be his representative and has become a representative of another.
Let us not be easily deceived.
For example. Let us learn from the Arabs. In their oil. It is also the Americans and the Englishmen et. al. who exploited their oil. But the Arabs were not exploitable; so, they were paid handsomely by the oil refiners, composed mostly of the Americans and Englishmen.
And so the Arab nations are rich!
Once we are rich, then, we can look back and consider paying our debts to America et. al. even if we do not owe them a cent anymore!!! Once we are rich, God will be glad if we remember our imagined “debts”! But for the present difficult time, we must take care our own house first! Our own children who are malnourished, who are very dumb because there is no mother left at home to mold a good character and craft a bright mind in each child, and there is no money in the government to pay our teachers well, and there is no money to buy textbooks, and there is no money to give free education to our children!
I THEREFORE FAVOR, HENCE, RECOMMEND SUSPENSION OF DEBT REPAYMENTS. IN IT, WE ARE FOLLOWING THE WAY OF CHRIST! FOR CHRIST DOES NOT SAY WE HAVE TO HATE OURSELVES, BUT TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELVES. ALSO, THE LAW STATES TO LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL, AND THIS IS FULFILLED BY TAKING CARE FIRST OF THE POOR AMONG US.
FORGET NOW ABOUT THE AMERICANS WHO ARE LIVING IN MANSIONS AND ARE WALLOWING IN FATS, WINES, WOMEN, FOR THE SAKE OF OUR POOR FELLOWMEN WHO HAVE NO ROOFS. FORGET NOW ABOUT THE AMERICANS WHO ARE EATING FATS AND DRINKING WINES TO THEIR FULL!
WE MUST NOW FOCUS IN MAKING OUR PEOPLE RICH – READ: RICH IN HEART, MIND AND POCKET - SO WE CAN SERVE OTHER NATIONS AND RACES IN A MUCH BETTER WAY, AND NOT AS SLAVES, NOR AS PROSTITUTES!
WE HAVE ALLOWED OURSELVES TO BE TOO MUCH DEGRADED WAY BELOW THE LOWEST LEVEL OF HUMAN DIGNITY!
The Sixth Principle which Rizal taught the women is. All men are born equal, naked, without bonds. God did not create man to be a slave; nor did He endow him with intelligence to have him hoodwinked, or adorn him with reason to have him deceived by others. It is not fatuous to refuse to worship one’s equal, to cultivate one’s intellect, and to make use of reason in all things. Fatuous is he who makes a god of him[self], who makes brutes of others, or the one who strives to submit to his whims all that is reasonable and just. [or fatuous is he who makes a man his god].
We must not put ourselves below another, nor above anyone. The Patriarch Kisehel made it plain.
EQUALITY DEFINES TRUE BROTHERHOOD AMONG MEN
Finally, let us see ourselves in the light of the God-given wisdom of our ancient Patriarchs, in the following discourse by Patriarch Kisehel:
The True Divine Order
( See verses 10-11)
3. "If we want to be the true children of One and the Same Father, we must hold each other in like esteem not expecting our brothers to bow to us; let our mutual esteem consist in that we love each other as true brothers out of our love for God.
4. "Whatever is above or below this, likewise is not within God's order and thus a sin.
out of order
( See verses 12-14)
5. "You can see it from the example of a man to whom all other men show a profound respect though he is not a jot better than they.
6. "What will soon be the effect on him of such reverence?
7. "Look, soon he will begin to think of himself as more and better than those according him such respect, and he will become proud, arrogant and, finally , even tyrannical! No longer content with the respect of his considerable following, he will invade other regions with this crowd foolishly devoted to him and with his devoted fools force the people there to submit to him, maltreating and even killing those who refuse to do so.
8. "Indeed, such a man will go as far as forcing the devoted, respectful brothers to pay him a considerable part of the fruits of their labour as a tribute to their foolish respect!
Prophecy for the Whole World 'til the End-time
9. "In this way, kings and worldly rulers will rise in all cruelty and will crush to death their brothers, who were foolish enough, maybe because of some special talent, initially to accord them more respect than was due to them in the divine order.
The True Divine Order
10. "Thus we shall give to God what is HIs, and to the fellowman what is due to him!
11. "Honor, respect, humility, glory, praise, gratitude, love and adoration on our part are due to God alone; but we are all brothers and shall therefore love each other no more and no less than each loves himself. For therein lies the all-regulating and-equalizing beam of balance, namely, that we deal with one another as we deal with ourselves.
Out of Order — Warning!
12. "Whenever one deviates from this straight line, also the divine eternal order is bent and easily broken when man offers to man what is due to God alone.
13. "And whenever this happens, also the seed is sown from which all disaster will come over the whole earth.
14. "For truly, i tell you, no other sin but this one will be punished already on earth…
True kingship [or rulership] based on Love
15. "So, dear brothers, let us introduce quite a different royal rule. In this kingdom the king will be a guide and teacher to his brothers, by no means a lord and ruler.
16. "Such a king will be according to God's order and will have no need of worldly might, but the might of Divine Love, Wisdom, and Order will dwell in his spirit, and out of the spirit he will be able to easily and mightily lead his brothers into all that is good and true.
17. "So, heed this well and do not prostrate yourselves before us or anyone else of your or our like, and you will be a blessing to the people; likewise, let no one prostrate himself before you, and you will be a blessing the peoples. Amen."[2]
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