This year (and every year thereafter) New York will turn on the Tribute in Lights to honor those lost in September 11th. The ephemeral towers will reappear for one night only; and be accompanied at the actual site by a small ceremony where the names of the deceased will be read, and the families will have the chance to lay flowers in remembrance. It seems an appropriate tribute, and serves as a powerful reminder.

It’s that last part that upsets me. It does serve as a powerful reminder, and as we approach the two-year anniversary of the attacks I can’t help but remember the revenge and punishment we were supposed to have wreaked upon our enemies by now.

I think the fact that I had to think for a few seconds to come up with the name Osama bin Laden is less a testament of my poor memory, and more of an indication of how much the supposed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks has fallen off the radar; supplanted instead by a trumped up war against an old enemy, Saddam Hussein.

Not to imply that Saddam isn’t a bad guy. He is. Or was. We’ll see. It’s just that we were to have had justice by now. The families of some 6,800 victims were to have had their revenge.

We’ll never feel totally safe again, that much is a certainty. The attacks set an ugly precedent for other hopeful terrorists; it showed them that all of their wild, insane dreams are possible. I was hoping, though, to at least not have to fear one particular enemy. So c’mon Bushy-baby, show us what you’re made of.