This book was something we discussed in our Rizal class. Reading through it, I couldn’t help but feel a kind of admiration for Rizal, who was able to lay bare the, simply put, indolence of the Filipino. The reasons for it may be looked at as mere excuses, but the train of thought is still something exciting and interesting. I suppose the only thing that is perceived bothersome is that Rizal seems to still convey a subtle message on wanting the Islas Filipinas to be a province of Spain, as one may see in the last sentence of the book:
This policy has the advantage in that while it may
not lull the instincts of liberty wholly to sleep, yet the day when
the mother country loses her colonies she will at least have the gold
amassed and not the regret of having reared ungrateful children.
(An explanation/reaction to this subject would actually be of use to me, as our PI 100 discussions seemed a long time past… Perhaps I should go read again, though o___O)
Nevertheless, Rizal’s stress for the importance of national sentiment and lack of training is quite realistic, and valid still today. The PDI’s article about it should summarize it quite well.
All in all, a good read for the indios, even at present.
The Indolence of the Filipino by José Rizal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
