Jose Rizal as a Nationalistic or Patriotic?

  The first half of Noli me Tangere was written in Madrid, Spain from 1884-1885 while Dr. José P. Rizal was studying for medicine. While in Germany, Rizal wrote the second half of Noli me Tangere from time-to-time starting February 21, 1887. After he read the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, he had an inspiration to write his own novel with the same topic–to expose Spanish colonial abuse in print. Beecher Stowe's novel describes black slavery abuse done by white men. Rizal suggested to his fellow Filipino friends in Europe, through writing, to have a meeting and plan for writing a novel similar to that of Beecher Stowe's. (At this moment, Rizal planned not to write the novel himself, but through collective efforts done by other Filipinos who shared ideals with him.) In 1884, Rizal and his friends including the Paterno brothers–Pedro, Maximo, and Antonio; Graciano López-Jaena, Evaristo Aguirre, Eduardo de Lete, Melecio Figueroa, Valentín Ventura and Ju...

Is our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal a Nationalistic or a Patriotic? Before we answer the question I would like to discuss to you first what is a nationalism and a patriotism. The definition of Nationalism is having strong patriotic feelings, especially a belief in the superiority of one's own country over others. According to George Orwell’s explanation “Notes on nationalism” http://www.resort.com/~prime8/Orwell/nationalism.html By "nationalism" I mean first of all the habit of assuming that human beings can be classified like insects and that whole blocks of millions or tens of millions of people can be confidently labeled "good" or "bad." But secondly -- and this is much more important -- I mean the habit of identifying oneself with a single nation or other unit, placing it beyond good and evil and recognizing no other duty than that of advancing its interests. Nationalism is not to be confused with patriotism. Both words are normally used in so...