I've spent the last few months confronting, comprehending, and learning about Jose Rizal's life and

writings.

Students participating in this course, are required to grow moral character, personal discipline, and civic

consciousness in addition to reading Rizal's writings based on the Rizal Law. Furthermore, via this course,

Jose Rizal was shown as another human being with significant ideas. Although he was still depicted as an

amazing and phenomenal character, the lectures enabled students, including me, to see that Rizal is now

highly relevant. It is fairly common for individuals to reference phrases from Rizal's works or Rizal himself

to confirm or back up their assertions or beliefs when reading Twitter or Facebook debates about the

present status of our country. Furthermore, because nothing has changed over the ages and because our

fellowmen have yet to learn from their mistakes in the past, Jose Rizal's views and ideals about our country

remain immensely relevant. During class, I was disturbed and shocked to learn that Rizal's ideas are still

highly relevant in today's society; that we are still slaves to today's tyrants and that we lack the concept of

"sufer y trabajar." Based on this, my professor concluded that Rizal's ideas are either truly timeless or that

the country we live in has not progressed since Rizal's time. The aforementioned emotions were genuinely

mind-boggling to hear. Nonetheless, whether it is owing to Rizal's timeless beliefs or our nation's decline,

one thing is certain: Rizal remains deeply important in today's world. By studying all of this, we may learn

about the sacrifices and struggles that our fellow Filipinos had to face throughout Spanish colonialism.

Furthermore, through studying Rizal's life and works, readers gain a better understanding of a particular

period in the country's history. Studying Rizal's life and works can also help us comprehend the reasons for

current political and social issues, as well as why they persist and never truly go away. By reading and

comprehending Rizal's works, we may be able to identify actual remedies for our country's ailment.

Furthermore, through reading it, we may see Rizal as more human, as someone who went through certain

situations that regular people go through. Aside from the benefits already mentioned, understanding Rizal's

life and work might inspire citizens to be more grateful to Rizal and his compatriots who battled for the

country's freedom and the common good. We can understand how hard they fought to free our land from

the colonizers. It is critical to understand Rizal's life and work because the contributions they make to the

country are invaluable. We, the youth, know so little about their lives and work, but we are moved. What if

we looked into it more? We will, of course, learn a lot from them and be inspired by their work. He admires

what they do for the country, particularly Rizal, who is the tallest. He believes that the pen is mightier than

the sword. The wounds caused by verbal weapons will not heal fast and will do more damage to the tyrant's

personality. That is why they bother him. If all of the kids inherit this kind of concern and patriotism for the

country, we will definitely have a nonstop cycle of dignified youth that will soon be leaders. A person who

is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. And we, the people of

the Philippines, have a national hero whose name is Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda.

He made many sacrifices and fought for our freedom by writing his famous poems and novels. Revealing
the truth about the abuses and wrongdoings of the Spanish priests opens the eyes of every Filipino to

what’s happening in our country. And that is what makes me conclude that implementing Rizal's Law is

very important. If his law is implemented, we, the youth, will learn many lessons and be inspired by Rizal's

works. The principle of the pen is mightier than the sword. And most of all, his love for his country. If all of

the youth inherit this kind of concern and patriotism for the country, we will definitely have a nonstop cycle

of dignified youth that will soon be leaders of this country. Is the teaching of Dr. Jose Rizal's Life and Works

course realistic given the dangers and sensitivities of literature as a means of communication in learning

nationalism, patriotism, and volunteerism? Definitely yes. But first I would like to talk about the dangers and

sensitivities of Rizal’s literature. Yes, it does have sensitive issues about the church and its priests. That’s

why the church is against implementing Rizal's law because they don’t want the church’s image to get dirty

in the eyes of their followers. But I think we are old enough to know the truth and believe our own opinion

about this topic. In learning nationalism, patriotism, and volunteerism, we need to know the truth and what

really happened, regardless of the sensitivities of Rizal’s literature. Even though his works reveal the wrong

doings of the church, it plays a big role in our history. It gives us ideas about how people lived, how they

were treated, and how they fought the Spaniards. Also, his literature talks about his life, his opinions, his

ideas, his lovers, and most of all, it talks about how he loves our country. So, learning all of this will boost

our nationalism, patriotism, and volunteerism in this country. We can learn about Jose Rizal's life and how

he overcame various obstacles. Jose Rizal was a prolific poet, essayist, and novelist whose most famous

works were his two novels and their sequel, El Filibusterismo. Therefore, I will choose the popular novel by

José Rizal. Noli Me Tangere depicts the different aspects of the accession to independence and the

relationship between this novel and nationalism, because without it, a nation itself cannot be called a

country. Nationalism implies the urge to achieve political freedom and independence, especially by a

country following foreign jurisdiction. Its connection to nation-building is the creation or improvement of a

nation, notably one that has recently become independent. Nation-building cannot be understood without

the collaboration of several key concepts, including nationalism, social individuality, the nation-state, and

nationalism. The term "nation" has been interpreted by many philosophers, academics, and professionals.

Noli Me Tangere and also El Filibusterismo have influenced our sense of nationalism by awakening our

eyes to the truth and having an identity that created a nation as a complex and encompassing its culture

and tradition without the influence of the colonizers and revealed its purpose by accelerating national unity.

It is true, we are nothing but to take the problems of the people, to join the people, not to pay attention to

their cries, to give an example to others, to spread the idea of what we used to call the homeland. It is clear

that we need to be united and we need a reason for nationalism that identifies us as Filipinos and not as

people who are under the domination of Spain. The final way to build the nation is through Rizal's greatest

contribution to planning the national unity of the Filipino nation was his tireless efforts to urge his compatriots
to work together for national unity, a prerequisite for national survival. Any man who has withdrawn to

confront injustice is not for the well-being of society. And he certainly explains why nation-building needs

nationalism because it has created a united nation with an identity that they can call themselves. Much of

his work has an impact on our country's nation-building as it creates its own identity and also has an impact

on other countries. He encourages us to be more nationalistic by analyzing his works and the concept of

nationalism that we can relate to and use. As young people today, we can experience or expand the idea,

word, and life of Rizal's work and life that shows his dedication to the country, and as citizens of the

Philippines, we need to know why we must love our country more because we have to be mindful of our

individuality and our country and we have to take care of it, and it is because we are Filipino that we should

embrace it and whatever the time or generation, as here we are and his work will never be neglected and

should be celebrated. It is somehow the kind of character or attitude that Filipinos have. We are ready to

fight whatever it takes, but behind that is the most precious thing. We will have it lifted to the Divine Creator

if it allows us to fight through weapons or not. However, passively through the writings of Dr. Jose Rizal,

Filipinos were able to get rid of the mindset of fighting against the Spaniards and liberate our ancestors

from them. On the nation-building side of us being Filipinos at that, we are a proud, God-fearing nation even

though there are things we need to patch up to the world’s standards. Being faithful and resilient are some

of our Filipino attitudes that formed and molded us as one united nation.