Define Down Under?

Define Down Under?
Re “I Am Australian, So Am I” [Aug. 19]: I am Australian. One of my grandfathers was born in Prussia; the parents of one of my grandmothers were immigrants from Germany. My other grandparents were descendants of migrants from England and the Channel Islands. I admire the way Hannah Beech covered complex social changes so succinctly. It matches my recollections of the period since the 1930s, and Australia changing from a Eurocentric nation to an Asia-centric one.
Peter Anton Fopp,
West Beach, Australia

How unfortunate that your portraits selected to represent “The True Face of the Lucky Country” did not include any indigenous Australians, despite current efforts to now include these people within the national constitution! The accompanying article refers to a “sunburned national identity” that was “little encumbered by the existence of the Aboriginal population.” Recognition needs to replace encumbrance.
Terry Birtles,
Mount Spring, Australia

The summation “the lucky country whose greatest resource is its diversity of humanity” is nonsense. Australia was a wonderful country before it had a diverse population. Australia’s greatest resource is its culture of acceptance of diversity. Australia is not multicultural (which is distinct from multiracial). In multicultural countries, separate cultures are maintained throughout generations. Almost all Australian-born citizens, regardless of heritage, proudly regard their culture as “Australian.”
Bob Salmond,
Canberra

Some mention should have been made of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, a massive hydroelectricity and irrigation scheme commenced in 1949. This project took 25 years to complete, and the telling fact was that two-thirds of the workforce were immigrant workers from over 30 countries. These workers assimilated into the Australian community, raising their families and in no small part contributing to the future prosperity of this country.
Chris Glover,
Forestville, Australia

Bee Trouble
Re “The Plight of the Honeybee” [Aug. 19]: Great article on the bees. This is a serious epidemic we are facing. I do, however, think it’s not the pesticides we should be worried about. One area I feel was overlooked was frequency. Bees are connected to the electromagnetic field of the earth, and they use this field to navigate and pollinate. Because of urbanization and increased use of technology like cell phones, we are disrupting the airwaves and electromagnetic field in which they exist.
David Lawrence Dix,
Cape Town

This article is a typical example of why I go on buying TIME magazine. It is absolutely excellent. While most of your magazine keeps us readers up to date on international interhuman activities, we need to join forces to look after our planet before it is too late. Why can the collective “we” not see the benefit of this simple formula — when the evidence is as clear as you guys make it?
Jennifer Brodie,
Banchory, Scotland

Legalizing Drugs
Re “Montevideo Shows the Way” [Aug. 19]: Two of the gravest burdens for any society, regarding health issues and medical expenses, are the use of drugs and tobacco smoking. So to me, legalizing any drug — especially one that is a gateway to heavier drugs — seems to make matters worse.
Martin Andersson,
Gothenburg, Sweden

More to Austen
Re “Stein and Sensibility” [Aug. 19]: It’s sad to see that a renowned writer like Joel Stein has taken the liberty to generalize men as anti — Jane Austen. What baffles me more than his cheesy jokes or his patronizing manner against Austen readers is that he doesn’t seem to understand the era in which the books were written. While the ideologies of that era don’t seem to hold any truth now, Stein would do well to remember that a few centuries down the line, there might be people holding anti-Stein discussions too.
Gayatri Viswanathan,
Navi Mumbai, India