Jose Rizal, Bertrand Russell, and Albert Einstein

Bertrand Russell, at age of 70, was denied an appointment to teach logic and mathematics at the City College of New York in 1940. His writings on social and political issues have been described by his religious critics as: "Treacherous, salacious, libidinous, lustful, venerous, erotomaniac, aphrodisiac, atheistic, irreverent, narrow-minded, untruthful, and bereft of moral fiber." In 1950, however, Bertrand Russell was the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature. In defense of Bertrand Russell, here are the words of his great friend and associate Albert Einstein: "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly." In the Philippines, however, as I am not a Knight of Rizal, not a school teacher, or a college professor, not an historian, not even a newspaper editor, but simply a self-taught high school expelled unbeliever of the faith - I'd like to think that I too played a tiny part in publicly writing fearlessly the same thing about our own Jose Rizal - the greatest spirit the Philippines has ever produced. Indeed, I said it before, I say it again: Jose Rizal, born and died in the Philippines, was a taller, greater, and a more truthful man than Jesus Christ - the Son of God, born and died in a foreign land 2,000 years ago. He promised to return quickly to remedy the ills of human society, its sick religion and sick politics. Poch Suzara