Dr Jose P Rizal: Man for All Seasons and Humanity

Dedicated to our country's National Hero, born June 19, 1861, and whose martyrdom on December 30, 1896 ignited a revolution against Spain leading to Philippine Independence.  

Rizal: boy and man; Artist's study: head profile of Rizal

 

Rizal as a student in Europe; right, most popular portrait, in official documents and books; Rizal, had he reached 90. Acknowledgment: Mr. Philip Cabrera, son of the artist; and National Historical Institute.

This article serves as a reference guide to students taking the Rizal Course, a three-unit subject in college. 

Dr Abe V Rotor

TRIVIA: Complete name of Jose Rizal: José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda. The Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal, has his own views and concepts about Global Fellowship which is synonymous to "Internationalism", "Worldwide Brotherhood", "International Alliance", and "Global Fellowship of Humankind". The following concepts are taken from Rizal's own words, speeches, literature, and careful analysis of his personal history and works.

------------------------------------"It is not what your country can do for you, but it is what you can do for your country." Rizal
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Factors that shaped Rizal

Among the factors that shaped Jose Rizal as a person:

1. Racial origin: Rizal descended from the Malay race and also genetically inherited the mixed Ilocano and Pangasinan bloodline of his mother. He also has Chinese and Spanish lineage.

2. Faith (religion): Christianity also shaped Rizal's way of thinking. He was born, baptized, and raised as a Roman Catholic.

3. His being a reader of books: He read many manuscripts, books, and other publications printed in various languages.

4. His being a linguist: His knowledge of different languages apart from his own. He can speak and understand 22 languages.

5. His voyages: He was able to befriend foreigners from the various nations that he was able to visit.

Rizal's ideas about "Brotherhood" (Fellowship)

These are Rizal's ideas about the subject of having a fellowship or brotherhood of humankind:

1. Education: The proper upbringing and education of children and daughter in order for them to prevent the same fate and suffering experienced by the uneducated and ignorant fellowmen under the rule of the Spaniards.

2. Faith or religion: The belief in only one God. The existence of different religions should not be the cause of misunderstandings. Instead, this existence of many religions should be used to attain unity and freedom. There should be deep respect to every individual's faith; the beliefs that one had become accustomed to and was brought up with since childhood.

3. Fellowman: It is important for one person to have a friend (fellow) and the establishment of an acquaintance with fellow human beings. (It is also important) to recognize the equality of rights of every fellow human being regardless of differences in beliefs and social status.

Rizal's efforts to promote a "Global Fellowship"

Rizal promoted global fellowship through the following:

a. Formation of organizations: Included here are known scholars and scientists recognized as the International Association of Filipinologists.

b. Friendship: In every journey, he was able to meet and befriend foreigners who sympathize with the experiences and events occurring in the Philippines.

c. Maintenance of communication: Before and during his exile at Dapitan, Rizal was able to keep in touch with his friends located in different parts of the world. He was also able to exchange opinions, writings and even specimens which he then studied and examined.

d. Joining organizations: Rizal believed in the goals of organizations that are related to the achievement of unity and freedom of humankind. He always had the time and opportunity to join into organizations.

Basis of "Worldwide Brotherhood" (Worldwide Fellowship)

These are the basis of the above ideas, which were then taken from Rizal's opinions found in his own writings and speeches which intend to establish unity, harmony, alliance and bonding among nations: The fundamental cause or reason for having the absence of human rights is eradicated through the establishment of unity.

One of Rizal's wishes is the presence of equal rights, justice, dignity, and peace. The basis for the unity of mankind is religion and the "Lord of Creations"; because a mutual alliance that yearns to provide a large scope of respect in human faith is needed, despite of our differences in race, education, and age. One of the negative effects of colonialism is racial discrimination. The presence of a worldwide alliance intends to eradicate any form of discrimination based on race, status in life, or religion.

Rizal wishes Peace to become an instrument that will stop the colonialism (colonization) of nations. This is also one of Rizal's concerns related to the "mutual understanding" expected from Spain but also from other countries. Similar to Rizal's protest against the public presentation (the use as exhibits) of the Igorots in Madrid in 1887 which, according to him, caused anger and misunderstanding from people who believed in the importance of one's race.

Hindrances towards the achievement of a "Worldwide Brotherhood"

However, Rizal also knew that there are hindrances in achieving such a worldwide fellowship: Change and harmony can be achieved through the presence of unity among fellowmen (which is) the belief in one's rights, dignity, human worth, and in the equality of rights between genders and among nations.

From one of the speeches of Rizal:

“The Philippines will remain one with Spain if the laws are observed and carried out (in the Philippines), if the Philippine civilization is "given life" (enlivened), and if human rights will be respected and will be provided without any tarnish and forms of deceitfulness. ”

Rizal's words revealed the hindrances against an aspired unity of humankind:

1. The absence of human rights.

2. Wrong beliefs in the implementation of agreements.

3. Taking advantage of other people.

4. Ignoring (not willing to hear) the wishes of the people.

5. Racial discrimination.

Excerpt from one of Rizal's letter to a friend:

“ If Spain does not wish to be a friend or brother to the Philippines, strongly the Philippines does not wish to be either. What is requested are kindness, the much-awaited justice, and not pity from Spain. If the conquering of a nation will result to its hardship, it is better to leave it and grant it its independence. ”

This letter presents Rizal's desire and anticipated friendship between Spain and the Philippines, but one which is based on equality of rights.

Translation:

"What? Does no Caesar, does no Achilles appear on your stage now,
Not an Andromache e'en, not an Orestes, my friend?"
"No! there is naught to be seen there but parsons, and syndics of commerce,
Secretaries perchance, ensigns, and majors of horse."
"But, my good friend, pray tell me, what can such people e'er meet with
That can be truly great? - what that is great can they do?"

- Friedrich Schiller, "Shakespeare's Ghost," translated by John Bowring

Translation:

TO MY COUNTRY

Recorded in the history of human suffering are cancers of such malignant character that even minor contact aggravates them, endangering overwhelming pain. How often, in the midst of modern civilizations have I wanted to bring you into the discussion, sometimes to recall these memories, sometimes to compare you to other countries, so often that your beloved image became to me like a social cancer.

Therefore, because I desire your good health, which is indeed all of ours, and because I seek better stewardship for you, I will do with you what the ancients did with their infirmed: they placed them on the steps of their temples so that each in his own way could invoke a divinity that might offer a cure.

With that in mind, I will try to reproduce your current condition faithfully, without prejudice; I will lift the veil hiding your ills, and sacrifice everything to truth, even my own pride, since, as your son, I, too, suffer your defects and shortcomings.~

NOTE: This article serves as a reference guide to students taking the Rizal Course, a 3-unit subject in college.

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Anecdotes about Rizal 
Acknowledgement: Internet

1. One day, intending to cross Laguna de Bay, the boy Rizal rode on a boat. While in the middle of the lake, he accidentally dropped one of his slippers into the rough waters. The slipper was immediately swept away by the swift strong currents . Do you know what he did? He intentionally dropped the other slipper into the water. When somebody asked why he did such a thing, he remarked, "A slipper would be useless without its mate".

2. It was Jose Rizal's Mother who told him about the story of the moth. One night, her mother noticed that Rizal was not paying anymore attention to what she is saying. As she was staring at Rizal, he then was staring at the moth flying around the lamp. She then told Rizal about the story related to it.

There was a Mother and son Moth flying around the light of a candle. The Mother moth told her son not to go near the light because that was a fire and it could kill him easily. The son agreed. But he thought to himself that his mother was selfish because she doesn't want him to experience the kind of warmth that the light had given her. Then the son moth flew nearer. Soon, the wind blew the light of the candle and it reached the wings of the son moth and he died.

Rizal's mother told him that if the son moth only listened to what his Mother said, then he wouldn't be killed by that fire. 

Rizal must have remembered his mother's anecdote that night a moth visited him in Fort Santiago where he awaited his execution the following morning. He must have thought of the moth dying for his country's freedom. It died for a cause. It is the way martyrs die.  

Documents of the Declaration of Philippine Independence  on June 1, 1898

Artist's interpretation on Rizal on his way to execution at Bagumbayan. Note lively gait and stride, and apparently jovial conversation with the escorting military officer. It was reported by an attending doctor that Rizal's pulse rate was normal even as he faced the firing squad.-----------
* Dr Abe V Rotor
Former Professor, Rizal Course, UST and SPUQC

References: Rizal as the Father of Filipino Nationalism (Manila: Bureau of printing, 1941), and Rizal's Concept of World Brotherhood, 1958. 

Yes, you can bring down the rainbow - and touch it, too.

Rainbow - the cathedral in the sky that brings the faithful of all beliefs together in awe and respect to the Creator, the unifying grace of all mankind. 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Morning rainbow across the hills and river in Bamban, Tarlac

 

Children in the neighborhood delight in making a rainbow through an aquarium as prism.  You can make one, too, in your home.

Rainbow - a kaleidoscope of colors in a pattern of seven - red, orange, yellow, green blue, indigo and violet - that guide man's art in endless combinations.

Rainbow - it builds slowly before our eyes; it comes as twin, or breaks out suddenly  perking up life in its low ebb, and taking out the boredom of living.   

Rainbow - gauge of  weather, reference for travel and trade, source of inspiration of lovers,  bards and writers, subject of the arts, icon of faith and devotion. 

Rainbow - the make-believe subject in children's stories of fairies and spirits; the most sought treasure of grownups -  the proverbial pot of gold. 

Rainbow - ephemeral for which its beauty in heightened, like a rose in the morning, first rain in May, the passing of day and night, and the march of seasons.  

Rainbow - likened to the cycle of life - its birth and death, glory and fall, its simplicity grandeur, its independence and attachment to all things, visible and invisible.   

Rainbow - now you see it, now you don't, a puzzle to the old and young in all walks of life, yet seeing it best with a clear mind, pure heart and spirit.

Rainbow - it conquers gloom, sows hope, builds the biggest, the most beautiful and magnificent arch of the world that bestows honor to everyone.  

Rainbow - the cathedral in the sky that brings the faithful of all beliefs together in awe and respect to the Creator, the unifying grace of all mankind.  

Rainbow - too high, too far, too abstract, yet to the children it is near, it is real and true; rainbow the symbol of beauty and hope, it comes when the sky is gloomy and dark. ~

Rainbow comes down to earth in many ways - in flowers in spring, leaves in autumn, mountains at sunrise, reflection of lakes, spray of running streams, mirage in deserts, feathers of fowls, and the like.  The rainbow is commonly imitated in man-made structures and designs, and many items of trade and commerce.

Living things like this rainbow fish have captured through evolution the colors and pattern of the rainbow, assuring them of a place and order in the living world.   

Nineteenth Century Engine - Prime Mover of the Early Rice Mills

In grateful memory of the donor, the late Mr Bonifacio Tambot, to the Grains Museum at the National Food Authority Regional Office, Cabanatuan City. 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Author inspects artifact - a single cylinder engine which revolutionized the grain industry.
Courtesy of the late Mr. Bonifacio Tambot, Pozorrubio, Pangasinan

This prototype prime mover powered the rice mills in the country during the Commonwealth era. It runs practically the whole day during the peak harvest season with brief rest for maintenance. It is water cooled, a large overhead tank dissipates heat from the engine. One brand, India's Kirloskar, which runs on the same principle - and is very much downsized - still powers today many kiskisan rice mills which have slightly changed for over a century.

This rare collection can be seen at the newly re-opened Grains Museum of the Food Authority in Cabanatuan City, NE.~

The Virus - Enigma in the World of Minutiae

The Virus - An Artist's Interpretation  

Dr Abe V Rotor

A virus is invisible, not even under the light microscope, the one we use to examine bacteria and one-celled organisms. It is the electron microscope modern science made possible in exposing the virus structure, and today we can scan it more than a thousand times, setting aside the proverb of looking for "a needle in a haystack. "

All viruses have two components: 1) a nucleic acid genome and 2) a protein capsid that covers the genome. Together this is called the nucleocapsid. In addition, many animal viruses contain a 3) lipid envelope. The entire intact virus is called the virion,

herein interpreted by an artist in a table model, using spikes of the local cherry tree (Flacourtia jangomas) implanted on the capsid.  Surrounding the virus in the model is the host cell, so huge the invading parasite is minuscule to the latter's size. 

Although the model is colorful, viruses as seen under the electron microscope are colorless and visible only in contrast black and white. However, with the computer today their images can be modified and fashioned into artistic interpretations.

     

Cross section of the virus; closeup of its "crown" 

COVID-19 patient's lungs model - an artist's interpretation

 Dr Abe V Rotor

Model of a COVID-19 patient 's made of wood termite's nest, by the author 2020, inspired by an article printed hereunder.


Double-lung transplant on COVID-19 patient offers hope for others
Agence France-Presse @afp
Published 10:33 AM, June 12, 2020
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WASHINGTON, DC, USA – A woman in her 20s has become the first person in the United States to receive a double-lung transplant for COVID-19, offering hope for other critically-ill coronavirus patients, her doctor said Thursday, June 11.

She had spent 6 weeks in the intensive care unit of Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where a life support machine performed the work of her heart and lungs, keeping her alive.

But by early June her lungs had become so badly damaged that a transplant was her only hope.

Face Timing with family

The patient, who is Hispanic, is now conscious and has been FaceTiming with members of her family, added Bharat.

She remains on a ventilator and is breathing via an opening in the throat called a tracheostomy, as she gathers her strength before she can be discharged in a few weeks.

It is the first time a double-lung transplant for a COVID-19 patient has taken place in the US.

China announced a similar operation on a 66-year-old woman in March.

The world's first double-lung transplant was performed in Toronto in 1986.

It was led by G. Alexander Patterson, under whom Bharat, who is originally from India, was trained.

Before the US patient could receive the transplant, she had to test negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.

"For many days, she was the sickest person in the COVID ICU – and possibly the entire hospital," said Beth Malsin, a critical care doctor.

"There were so many times, day and night, our team had to react quickly to help her oxygenation and support her other organs to make sure they were healthy enough to support a transplant."

It is very unusual for a young woman to have suffered such extensive lung damage from the coronavirus, and doctors hope to study her closely to learn more about why this happened.

Though generally healthy, she had a minor illness requiring medication that suppressed her immune system to some extent, but it was not clear that this was the cause of the extreme lung damage.

Donor shortages

Beyond proving that other critically-ill COVID-19 patients can be saved, lung transplants could also help patients who are well enough to return home, but who might go on to suffer a permanent loss of breathing function, added Bharat.

As with other organs, there is a shortage of donors, and wait times in the US are 3 to 6 months.

Bharat said less than 15% of all lungs that are offered are deemed suitable for use, but new techniques including "ex vivo lung perfusion" are increasingly being used to repair some of those organs.

"Necessity drives innovation, so I think, if more patients need transplants you will figure out a way," he said. – Rappler.com

Acknowledgement: Life and Health (Internet)

Bird Fossil

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog

Bird Fossil , relief painting by the author.

Archaeopteryx and bird combined, 
     transition of reptile to fowl;
from cold to warm blooded the key
     to survive in a grueling bowl. 

To an artist the work of imagination,
     where creation is in the mind;
apologies to science and to Darwin,
     art often ahead of the find.       

Need not trace the origin of art,
     but science needs the proof;
like Piltdown Man is all but hoax,
     the greatest scientific goof.~

LESSON on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio

738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Snail etching a wall mural - harmony of human and nature art

Snail etching a wall mural - 

harmony of human and nature art 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog

Giant African Snail (Achatina fulica) scraping a wall mural in QC

In Ancient Greece there were two artists regarded to be the best painters all over  Greece in its golden period. But who was the better of the two?

To resolve the issue a public contest was held.

The first painter painted fruits, so real and sweet looking that birds came and tried to pick the fruits.

The spectators exclaimed, "Who can beat a painter who can deceive the birds?"

It was the turn of the second painter. Tucked under his arm was a wrapped thing apparently, also a canvas. He stood on the stage silent for some time, until the first painter became impatient. "Why don't you show your work?" and started pulling the string to unwrap the object.

But he found out that the string is the painting itself.

The spectators exclaimed, "Who can beat a painter who can deceive another painter?

When I saw a mural being scraped by a snail, I said, "Who can beat a painter whose work invites a snail to work jointly with his art?"

Indeed I found the wall mural more beautiful and natural. It links man's art with that of nature into a universal harmony.~

LESSON on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday