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Thomas Alva Edison, American inventor and businessman (1847-1931), quoted in
From Telegraph to Light Bulb with Thomas Edison (2007) by Deborah Hedstrom-PageLETTERS TO THE EDITOR
TO THE EDITOR,
(In response to “Ditch the
Textbooks”, MET October,
2016) “A space where the
value of knowledge is contex-
tual and self-determined
rather than decided by a
central authority.” This is how
real liberation begins and can
be sustained. Self-directed
Education is about so much
more than learning. It’s about
liberated living and connec-
tion to community. Context
and community are such
important parts of learning
and living, yet we’ve normal-
ized the omission of both
these things and replaced
them with standardized
schoolishness. I know so many
educated and unemployed
people who have student loan
debt and not much else to
show for their “education.” We
have to shift to a more
sustainable means of living
and building. Self-directed
Education offers a viable set of
solutions to many of our most
pervasive social issues.
Akilah S. Richards,
website comment
TO THE EDITOR,
(In response to the online
article: “One of the World’s
Unfriendliest Countries for
Expats? Austria” September 7,
2017) One should not forget
that according to a recent
media statement of the
Internations CEO this “study”
did actually just include
approximately 170 people in
Austria, which is I assume less
than 0,5 percent of all expats
living here, I don’t really see it
as statistically trustable. The
annual Mercer study targets a
very similar group of people
with its questions and comes
to a very different result, as
we all know.
Friedrich Bruckner,
Facebook commentTO THE EDITOR,
Definitely not the friendliest
people (but don’t worry
expats, Viennese are also not
very friendly to other
Viennese – it gets better once
you leave the capital), but
otherwise amazing quality of
life with great social benefits!
And yes, def [sic] not a
representative sample from
the thousands of expats who
live here...
Denise Lassar, Facebook commentTO THE EDITOR,
From the mouths of babes,
“Mom, why is everyone hereso angry?” I’ll never forget
my 8-year-old asking this
question when we first moved
to Vienna.
Laurie Heaslip Johnson,
Facebook commentTO THE EDITOR,
Am I a lucky person? 99.
percent of all Viennese had
been very supportive and kind
with me. I was not expecting
the same “easy friendship” as
in México, but let’s be honest:
no place is the same as home
(for the good and for the bad).
My suggestion is to be open
minded, not make big
expectations and share a
smile. Smile always wins!!!
Yuriria Gutiérrez Tovar,
Facebook commentTO THE EDITOR,
(In response to the Facebook
post “What does ‘The Good
Life’ in Vienna Mean To You?”,
September 15, 2017)
Being able to safely walk just
about anywhere, or take
reliable, safe public transport
just about anywhere – and
then walk around new
corners of the city (or rent a
bike for almost nothing).
Always discovering
new sights amongst relaxedpeople, strolling through
1,000 years of history in an
afternoon or enjoying
beautiful forest and river
pathways, maintained by a
city that cares.
Jeremy Whitlock,
Facebook commentTO THE EDITOR,
Seeing older people out on the
streets or in the underground.
Coming from the States this
was one of the first things I
noticed, an active older
generation. People not just put
up in retirement communities
or walking laps at the mall
before the shops open.
Mark Long, Facebook commentTO THE EDITOR,
Go out of the house, look up,
see this special light, lighting
up the old faces so highly
decorated, go around the
corner, having good, safe and
clean public transportation,
knowing they bring you
everywhere – parks, coffee-
houses, culture, waterfront,
museums – and you are safe –
even in the middle of the night.
Anja Pfeifer, Facebook comment