On the Rizal Retracting Issue

Jan 21, 2011 Phil Daily Inquirer Letter to the Editors >Dear Sirs: On the Rizal Retracting Issue I ask: Why is it only taught in our schools, colleges, and universities that the greatness of Rizal had nothing to do with his life's devotion to the search of the truth via questioning, writing, thinking, analyzing, and discovering the power and the beauty of science? But only everything to do with his death, with his so-called silly retraction? Indeed, in our spiritually poor and morally backward country - we are still being educated to believe and to have faith in how great Filipino thinkers and writers DIED for love of divinity; but hardly do we know about how they lived for love of country and indeed, love for humanity. So Rizal retracted before he was put to death. So, so what? The fact remains that the wealth, power, and glory of the Catholic church - the killer of Rizal is still here pretty much in control of the minds of Pinoys and hearts of Pinays to believe and to have faith in a lot of holy baloney, if not to have faith in a bunch of sacred malarkey, not to mention biblical absurdities. As the Sick Man of Asian, let's take a closer look inside our banks, hospitals, lawyer's offices, doctor's clinic, government offices, stores, buses, jeepneys, taxis, trains, nipa huts, expensive homes, filthy rich palaces, etc, - we find the photo of Jesus Christ - a foreigner, born a Jew in a Jewish land, sired by Jewish parents, living under a Jewish custom, tradition, and culture. But hardly do we find inside our schools, colleges, and universities photos of one of the greatest Filipino this whole world has ever produced - Jose Rizal. I said it before, I say it again: as one human being to another, if we can still believe that there exist something precious outside human existence - then we are just as pathetic as any lunatic proud and happy as a Catholic. In the meantime, in this already 21st century - thanks to our religious values and biblical beliefs - life in general in the Philippines is nothing but a competition to be the criminal or be the victim of criminals. You meet such criminals in charge of our schools, colleges, and universities, and indeed, in charge of our government. Yours In Rizal, Poch Suzara