Listen to our own Jose Rizal - arrested, jailed, and publicly executed for writing a book that shook the foundation of Christianity in the Philippines. He stressed the worth of the Filipino. He emphasized the fact that human dignity is a person’s worth, that which makes him stand above all other creatures.
In his exchange of ideas on human rights and freedom with Fr. Pablo Pastells, Rizal said: “Man’s dignity is precious to him. He carries within him a feeling of importance, a regard for his value and worth. When man ceases to value his dignity as a human being, he ceases to be a man. He forgets that nothing, indeed, is more excellent than humanity. . . Deprive a man of his dignity, and you not only deprive him of his moral stamina, but you also render him useless even to those who want to make use of him. . . Man in his self-respect; take it away from him and he becomes a corpse."
In his exchange of ideas on human rights and freedom with Fr. Pablo Pastells, Rizal said: “Man’s dignity is precious to him. He carries within him a feeling of importance, a regard for his value and worth. When man ceases to value his dignity as a human being, he ceases to be a man. He forgets that nothing, indeed, is more excellent than humanity. . . Deprive a man of his dignity, and you not only deprive him of his moral stamina, but you also render him useless even to those who want to make use of him. . . Man in his self-respect; take it away from him and he becomes a corpse."
There is, indeed, something feeble, if not despicable, about a Filipino who cannot live his life unless sustained by the belief in deadly superstitions. Such as - one need not bother with poverty, disease, and population growth because God will provide. Or, that "blessed are those who are poor in spirit. They shall inherit the kingdom of God in heaven."
It is time for us Filipinos to revolutionize our minds and hearts. And be more receptive to the values of science and scientific way of thinking, and technology. Such values should help us extricate ourselves out of poverty by generating our intellectual growth as a people, and development as a civilized and matured nation. It is also time to realize that we have been educated to only be amenable to more of the same blind faith in the Christian way of life. It has, indeed, turned out to be our worst enemy: faith kills the mind before other diseases kill the body. Faith is just another sacred word we have been taught to believe to justify a lazy mentality, to rationalize our lack of creativity, if not to maintain and to support the ways of our sick society. So deeply rooted in the teachings of Christianity.
Cheers!
Poch Suzara
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