They don't make bad decades like they used to (I hope)

Michael Lind, in a recent Salon column, says:

"In a few weeks, the second decade of the 21st century will be upon us. (Note to purists who insist that it will begin on Jan. 1, 2011: Get a life.) The first decade of this century is likely to be remembered as the Decade From Hell. It began with a stock market crash and the 9/11 attacks. It ended with the greatest global economic crisis since the Great Depression and deepening U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan. A decade's worth of stock market gains were swiftly erased and for 10 years there has been no new net job creation outside the areas of healthcare, education and government.

"The oughts can't end a moment too soon."

Fair enough. But I'm currently reading a book about the 1930s, Piers Brendon's The Dark Valley. Now THERE was an unrelievedly horrific decade, which makes the oughts seem relatively mild.