INTRODUCTION

As to discuss the article given to us “The problem with the lack of

nationalism”, General Luna’s life is used to describe how Filipino nationalism
lacks in this generation and how it is misinterpreted. His life has been
depicted in the movie “Heneral Luna” which gained criticism and appraisal
from its audiences. But first all, who is General Antonio Luna and how did he
contribute to the birth of Filipino Nationalism?

General Antonio Luna is regarded as one of the most respected and

fiercest armies under the command of the late President Emilio Aguinaldo. He
managed La Independencia and wrote also for La Solaridad with the pen
name “taga-ilog”. La Independencia is a newspaper that consists of four
pages with advertisements, academic essays, and news of local and foreign
stories (Philippine Press History, 2015). This newspaper is one of the factors
that helped the Philippines to reach its independence as well as with La
Solidaridad, Antonio Luna was also one of the members of this propaganda
movement and in the meantime, it became a publication accessible within the
mass (Filipino.Biz.Ph). He is considered as an enemy, arrogant, hot-headed,
and boastful person by the cabinet members and another general during their
time. His bad tamper gave a bad impression to the people around him (Bayani
Universe Wiki). However, President Aguinaldo stated that he is one of the
most brilliant strategists because of his war tactics through building trenches
and creating routes. General Luna is also considered as a genius because he
studied science of chemistry as well as studying literature, stated by
FilipinoKnow. He is also considered as a good writer and a good fighter for
studying martial arts and marksmanship (2022). As a soldier, he also pursued
studying the art of war which led him to be considered as a brave soldier and
have given recognition on his military operations. General Luna is said had
the aim of reform rather than revolution. His aim is the same as Mabini where
he realized that the Americans are taking in control of the Philippines during
the American-Philippine war as a replacement of the Spanish. Aguinaldo
refuses to hear General Luna and continued to consider the Americans as a
friend but ended up in the fact that American’s real plan is to dictate the
Philippines under their hand.

BODY

The article used General Luna as one of the Filipino nationalists during
his time (Luga, 2015). It is said that during the American colonization, General
Luna aimed to take them out of the country with the reason that the
Americans wanted to conquer the Philippines by letting the Filipinos absorb
their culture. The preservation of the culture shows how nationalist Luna was
before. However, his act of revolt against the Americans led him to his grave.
It is because the cabinet or the assembly of Filipino leaders at that time was
against Luna's ideas, including Aguinaldo. They argued that having the
attitude of General Luna will put the Philippines in danger of independence
from the Americans which they considered as the country's friend. Professor
Teodoro Agoncillo defined nationalism as the act of fighting for one's
independence. General Luna only considered the freedom of the Philippines
but he ended up being wronged since Aguinaldo agreed to the idea of the
Philippines being under the Americans' protection. Luga argued that Filipinos'
opposition to cultural adaptation is not how nationalism was born with
themselves but the contrary acceptance of colonials. This concept is what
General Luna was fighting for because the freedom of the Philippines is what
he seeks. The General turns out to be killed because of being misinterpreted
which also happens today. The misinterpretation of what nationalism is
(2015).

Be it “fear” of success, crab mentality, or lack of a unifying language,

there’s so much we need to overcome to build a true Filipino nation. And
bridging our divisions in language, faith, socioeconomic status, and political
color must be every Filipino’s concern, from our top leaders down to each one
of us (Habito, 2018). Our diversion can lead to a massive impact, for instance,
Aguinaldo’s cabinet members disagree about their allegiance with the
Americans. Some agreed because of their interest such as for the growth of
their economy, however, Luna remained adamant about his beliefs and
ideologies regarding gaining independence. However, it causes conflicts
about the power that the supposed ally becomes the enemy which leads to
the death of Luna. To further nationalism and patriotism Filipinos need to be
united, although we have differences in terms of dialect and other values.
Thus, we should not degrade or humiliate other people. We should strengthen
our deep-seated values, nationalities, and other cultures that define what a
Filipino citizen is. Building our nation calls for a sense of oneness, thus,
reducing the diversion in our society for the betterment of the country. Our
ancestors fought for independence and succeeded despite tremendous
circumstances. Thus, the article mentioned this misinterpretation of the movie
General Luna. The people seem to understand that being open hands with
other countries is what will help the land to rise. In this case, the national
identity tends to be missed. We are being left behind by our Asian neighbors
because of the quarrels we have in politics and the lack of national identity.

General Luna is a symbol of patriotism and fights passionately for the

liberation of his country from imperialism. He led the Filipino soldiers against
the Americans, it shows how much courage he had and how much is his love
for our country. As he tries to lead his countrymen against colonial masters,
new and old, to rise above their raging disputes to fulfill the promise of the
Philippine Revolution. What Heneral Luna does is to therefore pose us this
question: this was what your ancestors were willing to do for their country.
What are you willing to do for yours today?

CONCLUSION

After the era of colonization, we have finally achieved the

independence that we hoped for. Our heroes devoted and risked their lives to
achieve the freedom which we have long been enjoying. It should be
inculcated in us how to perform things to further depict being a patriot and
always respect our country and fellow countrymen because our diversion can
adversely affect the development of our country. By watching movies, we can
gain insights and learn some lessons on the impacts of history from the
present times if we want to make meaningful changes, we need to remain
intact and be united in every arduous situation we are in. Moreover, we should
not judge a person based on his/her principles, as long as it can create
changes and be helpful to us, we should support their ideologies. The
erroneous ideologies from the past should be presented in today's generation
so we should not make the same mistakes that they did especially when they
betray Heneral Luna.

REFERENCES:

13 facts that prove antonio luna was an All-Around badass. (2022). Filipino
Know. https://filipiknow.net/facts-about-antonio-luna/.

Antonio luna (history). (n.d.). Bayani Universe Wiki.

https://bayaniuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Antonio_Luna_(history)#:~:text=Gene
ral%20Antonio%20Luna%20(29%20October,Armed%20Forces%20of%20the
%20Philippines.

Hero of the philippine revolution gen. Antonio luna. (n.d.). Filipino.biz.ph -

Philippine Culture. http://www.msc.edu.ph/centennial/aluna.html.

Luga, J.M.P. (2015, September 24). The problem with the lack of nationalism.
Rappler. https://www.rappler.com/moveph/106921-problem-lack-nationalism/.

Tribute to a hero. (2020). manilastandard.net.

https://manilastandard.net/gallery/news-in-photos/338197/tribute-to-a-
hero.html.