A reader of this blog suggested that I write more about Jose Rizal and I think it is fitting to pay tribute to our national hero on his birthday.

As a child, my imagination was was fueled by the stories and anecdotes about Jose Rizal. I borrowed practically all of the books about Rizal in our Elementary library and I still couldn’t get enough of them. I read and reread them with enthusiasm since they made me feel like I could achieve anything even at a young age.

Reading about Rizal’s life made me aspire for greater things, more noble pursuits beyond the mindset of a typical student today. Instead of just studying to pass, he studied to pass on his knowledge to others. Not only did he risk his freedom by returning to the his homeland, he calmly gave up his life just as "tints on the sky b’gin to show." [Excerpt from the last peom of Dr. Jose Rizal, Mi Ultimo Adios*]

All of these he did in the name of his love for the Philippines, the land of his birth.

What am I willing to do in the name of my love for this Southeast Asian archipelago? Do I take pride in being a Filipino or am I just like the Indios of long ago who looked down their fellow countrymen and acted as mestizos/mestizas?

* The original poem was in Spanish but English, Tagalog, Japanese and two German versions are available here.