Heroism in the blood of every filipino.

Last August 29, 2010, President Benigno Aquino III said that Filipinos have in their blood heroism.
“I believe the blood that runs in our veins is the blood of heroes. We’re a nation of heroes. There are many ways to heroism in the present times, and there’s no need for guns or spears, no need to shed blood,”
He also said that:
    “What is required of us is to help one another, to serve the country without asking for anything in return. In fact, it’s enough that we do our duties as responsible Filipinos,”
“I believe that for many of us, the fight is not against an enemy but against one’s self. They’ve chosen to stay behind the bars of greed and every-man-for-himself. They’re still chained to the culture of apathy, of blame tossing,”
    “Putting personal interest ahead of the majority’s is no doubt the biggest obstacle to the path to change,”
    “If we remain indifferent, we will remain trapped in a situation that we want changed. We will not progress and our countrymen will still be mired in extreme poverty,”
    “Let’s put away the hindrance to a bright future. Let’s not hesitate to stand up and leave the situation that is holding us down,”
    “Let’s aspire for a better life and let’s not stop until we reach this goal. And for the future of our children and the next generations, I’m challenging everyone to help spread the true message of heroism,”
Though what he wanted to say is that Filipinos should have nationalism. We should be united in fighting our modern day struggle—the struggle against corruption. We must remove all our feelings of selfishness and promote the sense of unity and nationhood.

Well I agree and believe in most of what he said. Certainly we should not think of only ourselves but think of the good of all.  We really need to work as a team to be able to effectively fight corruption. Eliminate the selfishness and act for the sake of the nation and all of the Philippine islands. All of these are very true and must be pursued.

However I do not agree in one thing… heroism in not just in the blood of Filipinos but in the blood of every single human being. Why limit unity to the Philippines when almost all the world now is in chaos because of problems that most Filipinos are experiencing every day. I mean why just the Filipinos when all the world needs unity. Just now tensions are high between superpower countries such as China, US, North and South Korea. I think that what the world needs is not individual country nationalism but a unification of the whole world. A world where every human is equal and working together. What I wanted to say is that we should not only work as a country but work as a single world.

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How did Rizal develop his nationalist aspirations?

RIZAL was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is considered a national hero of the Philippines, and the anniversary of Rizal's death is commemorated as a Philippine holiday called Rizal Day. Rizal's 1896 military trial and execution made him a martyr of the Philippine Revolution.

The seventh of eleven children born to a wealthy family in the town of Calamba, Laguna, Rizal attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, earning a Bachelor of Arts. He enrolled in Medicine and Philosophy and Letters at the University of Sto Tomas and then traveled alone to Madrid, Spain, where he continued his studies at the Unibersidad Central de Madrid, earning the degree of Licentiate in Medicine. He attended the University of Paris and earned a second doctorate at the University of Heidelberg. Rizal was a polyglot conversant in at least ten languages. He was a prolific poet, essayist, diarist, correspondent, and novelist whose most famous works were his two novels, Noli me Tangere and El filibusterismo. These are social commentaries on the Philippines that formed the nucleus of literature that inspired dissent among peaceful reformists and spurred the militancy of armed revolutionaries against the Spanish colonial authorities.

As a political figure, Jose Rizal was the founder of La Liga Filipina, a civic organization that subsequently gave birth to the Katipunan led by Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo. He was a proponent of institutional reforms by peaceful means rather than by violent revolution. The general consensus among Rizal scholars, however, attributed his martyred death as the catalyst that precipitated the Philippine Revolution.

 

To be a native boy, living in the Philippine island during the Spanish colonization, it would be like experiencing great daily humiliation. A child need not to be smart to be able to see and understand what is happening around him during those times. Most probably he will see his neighbors, friends, relatives, brothers, sisters, or even parents get their piece of humiliation in front of him. Most kids would surely have in his mind fear… fear from the colonizers. But this one boy is special, his name is Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado.
His father, Francisco Mercado Rizal, an industrious farmer whom Rizal called "a model of fathers," came from Biñan, Laguna; while his mother, Teodora Alonzo y Quintos, a highly cultured and accomplished woman whom Rizal called "loving and prudent mother," was born in Meisic, Sta. Cruz, Manila. At the age of 3, he learned the alphabet from his mother; at 5, while learning to read and write, he already showed inclinations to be an artist. He astounded his family and relatives by his pencil drawings and sketches and by his moldings of clay.

During his childhood he had seen a lot of misdeeds of the Spanish colony and what small people did to stop it. In his tiny eyes he had witnessed how his teachers—The GOMBURZA—were humiliated and executed due to false blames and injustice. His own mother was taken to jail because of again false blames. At school, native students were often maltreated and compared to Spanish students. His brother was then became a member of a secret society whose objective is to protect and to create order in the country. People everywhere are whispering in secret to create and rise up against the colonizers.

The first signs of nationalism appeared at the age 8, the young Pepe wrote a Tagalog poem, "Sa Aking Mga Kabata," the theme of which revolves on the love of one’s language. Later he would join his brother’s group and fight for the equality for all. At his school in Manila, he fought against his friar teachers and showed that the natives as well can do what other Spanish students can do.
Later he was sent to Spain to study and to advocate for the rights of his fellow natives. He wrote in a newspaper called La Solidaridad which exposed the maltreatment done to his country. He advocated for rights and reforms to change the way the Spanish rule in the Philippine islands.

While out in other countries he wrote the novels Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo to open the eyes of his fellowmen. He wanted them to see and realize how grim their situation is and to do something about it. However, he later said that he did not meant bloody revolutions what he meant was to create peaceful solutions such as education and governmental reforms. In doing so, he woke up the sense of nationalism here in the country.

All in all the nationalism he spread later led to the sense of being a Filipino which later led to the independence that we experience now. We now have our identity and not only regarded as a colony but the sovereign Filipino people.

What does HERO means?

As a kid we often defined a hero are persons like Superman, Batman were our heroes. Why? Mm well I also don’t know however this is what I know: they are extra super amazing wearing their ultimately fantastic costumes. Ohh.. one more thing, they have super powers!!! They fight the bad guys and save the weak and innocent. They do good things and save lives.

However as we grow and our minds mature, we see a lot more of everything. We would soon realize that heroes as are not really what we expected. The real heroes as we would notice are merely just human, as from Shakespeare “they have their exits and entrances”. We see them do good things for their side of the society but at the same time do harm (kill/destroy/devour) the side of the society they are against.
From Yahoo Answers:
1.    somebody who helps without waiting for any reward.. somebody who thinks at the other people which are in trouble... i hope its good =))
2.    Someone who has made a sacrifice to do something great for what they believe in. Though, "hero" is all in perspective. One might regard someone as a hero, while someone on the other side might regard him as a villain. I think a good example of a hero is Martin Luther King Jr.
3.    I think heroism is defined by self sacrifice. Anyone who burdens themselves to help another....

Heroes can vary in a very wide range:
There is Rizal who is against revolutions but is pro to government reforms, though his works later led to the bloody Philippine Island natives uprising. His intentions were really something to be admired and followed, however he was not so clear about his dislikes in bloody conflict. Well because of this a lot of natives’ bloods were spilled during the early and immature revolution.
There is Bonifacio who believed that there is no hope for reforms and only uprisings and revolt is the only way to succeed. He was a good leader considering the fact that he was able to recruit a lot of men for the revolutions. Although the revolution that he planned was done prematurely and again not much is achieved but blood loss for most of the natives in the islands.

These two people are actually regarded (not yet proclaimed) as national heroes not because of what they achieved in the revolution but rather what they made to inspire, create, and strengthen the sense that Philippines is a country or simply the Filipino nationhood. This eventually built the need to be independence for every citizen in the Filipino nation. Additionally, they died for the country making the Filipino people believe that they are rightfully heroes.

Today, here is Manny Pacquiao, a world renowned Filipino boxer, Oftentimes he is regarded as a hero by a lot of Filipinos, though some people believe that making him a national hero would embarrass the former heroes (such as Rizal, Bonifacio, Luna, Tandang Sora, etc.) who were not yet even declared as national heroes yet. 

So what does it take to be a national hero in the Philippines?
On March 28, 1993 , President Fidel V. Ramos issued Executive Order No.75 entitled “Creating the National Heroes Committee Under the Office of the President”.

The principal duty of the Committee is to study, evaluate and recommend Filipino national personages/heroes in due recognition of their sterling character and remarkable achievements for the country.

Criteria for National Heroes

(Adopted by the Technical Committee of the National Heroes Committee on June 3, 1993 , Manila . Members of the Committee included Drs. Onofre D. Corpuz, Samuel K. Tan, Marcelino Foronda, Alfredo Lagmay, Bernardita R. Churchill, Serafin D. Quiason, Ambeth Ocampo, then known as Dom Ignacio Maria, Prof. Minerva Gonzales and Mrs. Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil)

1. Heroes are those who have a concept of nation and thereafter aspire and struggle for the nation’s freedom. Our own struggle for freedom was begun by Bonifacio and finished by Aguinaldo, the latter formally declaring the revolution’s success. In reality, however, a revolution has no end. Revolutions are only the beginning. One cannot aspire to be free only to sink back into bondage.

2. Heroes are those who define and contribute to a system or life of freedom and order for a nation. Freedom without order will only lead to anarchy. Therefore, heroes are those who make the nation’s constitution and laws, such as Mabini and Recto. To the latter, constitutions are only the beginning; for it is the people living under the constitution that truly constitute a nation.

3. Heroes are those who contribute to the quality of life and destiny of a nation. (As defined by Dr. Onofre D. Corpuz)

Additional Criteria for Heroes
(Adopted by the Technical Committee of the National Heroes Committee on November 15, 1995, Manila)

1. A hero is part of the people’s expression. But the process of a people’s internalization of a hero’s life and works takes time, with the youth forming a part of the internalization.

2. A hero thinks of the future, especially the future generations.

3. The choice of a hero involves not only the recounting of an episode or events in history, but of the entire process that made this particular person a hero. (As defined by Dr. Alfredo Lagmay)
 
However as the criteria are laid down on the table, didn’t anyone notice that these cannot be quantified? Hello… one can easily say that he made that he aspired and fought for the freedom of the nation. If one will say that he fought by not selling Philippine land to foreign nationals or companies then he is rightfully a national hero right?
Whatever. So what I believe is that national heroes should be decided by the people (same as what democratic governments do) not by just a fancy committee or something. The masses are the only one who can rightfully declare a hero based from what they know and what they believe.

What is NATIONALISM?

Nationalism involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. Often, it is the belief that an ethnic group has a right to statehood, or that citizenship in a state should be limited to one ethnic group, or that multinationality in a single state should necessarily comprise the right to express and exercise national identity even by minorities.

It can also include the belief that the state is of primary importance, or the belief that one state is naturally superior to all other states. It is also used to describe a movement to establish or protect a homeland (usually an autonomous state) for an ethnic group. In some cases the identification of a national culture is combined with a negative view of other races or cultures.

Conversely, nationalism might also be portrayed as collective identities towards imagined communities which are not naturally expressed in language, race or religion but rather socially constructed by the very individuals that belong to a given nation. Nationalism is sometimes reactionary, calling for a return to a national past, and sometimes for the expulsion of foreigners. Other forms of nationalism are revolutionary, calling for the establishment of an independent state as a homeland for an ethnic underclass.

Nationalism emphasizes collective identity - a 'people' must be autonomous, united, and express a single national culture. However, some nationalists stress individualism as an important part of their own national identity.

National flags, national anthems, and other symbols of national identity are often considered sacred, as if they were religious 

 rather than political symbols. Deep emotions are aroused. Gellner and Breuilly, in Nations and Nationalism, contrast nationalism and patriotism. "If the nobler word 'patriotism' then replaced 'civic/Western nationalism', nationalism as a phenomenon had ceased to exist."

Nationalism and the Establishment of the Republic of the Philippines

The first evidence of Philippine nationalism during the early days is the creation of the Creole Age. The earliest signs of Filipino Nationalism could be seen in the writings of Luís Rodríguez Varela, a Creole (people who run the Philippine island colony). He fought for the rights of the so called Filipinos(though these are only referred to as the Spaniards that were born here in the Philippine Islands.

 

Though for natives(Indios) this only seemed like a fight for the rights of the Spanish people, this ideas served as the basis of the propaganda movement by the Ilustrados.

 

People like Marcelo H. Del Pilar, Jose Rizal and other wrote propagandas and novels for the  purpose of spreading the sense of nationalism among the masses in the Colony of the Philippines. This later led to the unity of the Indios who became the Peninsulares(Anti-Spanish movement). These eventually led to the revolutions led by the Andres Bonifacio which are of course based on the principles of Philippine nationalism.
 

All of these later contributed to the fouding of the country's first constitution and then later came the Republic of the Philippines.

HEROISM