We fled Ithaca in May. As we do every year, we moved out of our apartments and threw our lives into boxes and bags, leaving keys in mailboxes and hoping security deposits will be returned in full. Internships, jobs, research and traveling began. And now the grind resumes. Suddenly the bars are full, the line at Olin snakes out the door and the freshwo/men look younger than ever. There are no open computers, and there are five things to do before your 10:10. It’s easy to forget what’s happened, and easier to forget what’s happening, because Ithaca really is a bubble.

While we were interning, working, researching and traveling…

An Israeli was kidnapped by Hamas in Gaza. Israel “handed-over” control of Gaza to the Palestinians last September, but they immediately bombed the area’s largest power refineries, closed its borders and shelled what it calls “terrorist training camps.” Bridges were detonated in a place that Israel no longer “controls” and vital foods and water were only available because Israel allowed their entry. Cpl. Gilad Shalit’s father, echoing Hamas, called on Israel to swap Palestinian prisoners for his son, but through the summer, over a hundred Gazans would die in Israeli attacks on the “sovereign” Gaza. Did Israel really stop controlling Gaza?

While you were on AIM at your resume-building internship…

Jacob Zuma was reinstated the Deputy President by the African National Congress, South Africa’s ruling party. He was on trial for rape when he told the world “I showered” after having unprotected sex with the HIV+ victim. His defense claimed that he could not have raped the woman, whose life was threatened repeatedly by his supporters. He testified to the world that Zulu men cannot wear condoms because it prevents the woman from climaxing, and if she didn’t climax he could have been accused of rape. He’s since apologized for the shower comment, but in a country where 800 people die every day from AIDS and Zulu culture has been exploited and degraded for centuries, that’s not nearly good enough.

While you waited for your flight to be called…

Three men, held since 2002 in conditions out of a horror movie, hanged themselves. These are three of the most popular people on the planet, held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by the United States of America. Never charged with any crime, yet subjected to force-feeding, torture and deprived of any hope of leaving alive, they ended their lives. One man at Gitmo has tried to kill himself 12 times. Think about that for a moment. After 11 attempts to end his life, this man still felt so wretched that he found the determination to try and leave the Earth again.

While you were at the beach…

The Republican in control of the Senate, Bill Frist, fought to change the Constitution. Flag-burning and gay marriage were his top priorities, both efforts supported by the White House. New Orleans is still a disaster zone, yet flag-burning was this man’s priority. Also, the Congress voted to make English the national language in response to the suggestion that the national anthem could be sung in both English and Spanish. Let’s start calling the U.S. “Los Estados Unidos,” just to screw with these morons.

While you were facebooking…

Just a few American soldiers were arrested for murder, rape and other atrocities committed in Iraq. A massacre in Haditha was discovered and reported — 24 civilians were gunned down. In another event, one soldier with the assistance of his comrades shot a woman, her husband and 3 year-old daughter, then raped her 15 year-old daughter. Then the rape victim was shot two or three times in the head, and the rapist tried to incinerate her body to destroy the evidence. And many claim that the army of the Estados Unidos should “stay the course” in Iraq, as if crimes like these aren’t happening all the time in different forms and different towns in Iraq. Whether or not the victims are raped, shot, drowned, burned or all four, it’s clear that all are suffering under the boot of a foreign occupier that doesn’t have much respect for Iraqi lives. Current polls show that more than 85 percent of Iraqis want the withdrawal to begin right now.

While CoursEnroll scammed you out of the afternoon section…

Over a thousand people were publicly executed in Lebanon and Israel. Hizbollah’s and Israel’s rockets thundered down with no respect for who lived in the target zones. In Lebanon, aid convoys and ambulances were attacked. Several hundred thousand people were displaced, and returned home to ruins. In Israel, apartment blocks were struck and people fled to bomb shelters. They have since returned to their homes, buried more dead soldiers than civilians and shared some sense of tragedy with the Lebanese, but not nearly on the same scale.

While you picked out classes that will make your resume sparkle, there was

violence around the world. Much of it bore a “Made in America” label, and bomblets and depleted uranium will punish people for years after hostilities. Ithaca is like the Garden of Eden, no doubt, but we are only removed from these events if we pretend that we’re immune to or independent from them. On this earth, on our watch, during our lives, atrocities are carried out in our names, with our (tacit) support. And tragedies that have nothing to do with America, but everything to do with humanity, continue. The time to sit on the sidelines is long past. So, what are you doing this semester? We all live on this planet. We can’t just flee the scene and bury our noses in books and expect to survive.

Jeff Purcell is a graduate student in Africana Studies. He can be reached at jlp56@cornell.edu. Brutal Honesty appears Mondays.