A Land fit for Heroes

I've always been a fan of older films about World War II - not because I wish I had been there, quite the contrary as it happens. But there are some very intelligent and thoughtful pieces of work, particularly The Cruel Sea. But today I had 158 miles to drive, so I got to thinking.

Often the veterans spoke of fighting just to get through it, to defeat a clear evil in the Nazis, but many spoke of hoping to make a new world. I wonder what those who didn't make it through alive would think of 2009. Would it be the world they'd fought for?

So I tested this as I hammered southwards towards Belfast. What would a 1945 soldier make of my life? Our island? My car? My home? My standard of living? My diet? My health provision? My life expectancy? I imagine he'd think I was in some kind of post-war paradise.

Then I got to thinking about our culture. What if he was shown 64 years into the future? That was an easy one to test. I simply tried everything available on the car radio. Harry Potter CD - mmm not sure. BBC Radio Ulster - Hugo Duncan. BBC Radio 4 - a rather incomprehensible play. BBC Radio 2 - Steve Wright discussing the fathers of Del Boy and Rodney. U105 and Citybeat were playing rock, and Classic FM was advertising its relaxing cds. I was glad there was no TV...

I'm not saying this is all bad stuff. I just wondered if the poor man would be able to tell me whether he'd won or lost...