In his poem, September 1st 1939, Auden wrote,

'Uncertain and afraid,

As the clever hopes expire

Of a low dishonest decade:

Waves of anger and fear

Circulate over the bright

And darkened lands of the earth,

Obsessing our private lives;'

Auden was writing of the very day of the German invasion of Poland, the event that triggered WW2. The 'dishonesty' of the decade, the 1930's, stemmed from his view that little had been done to stand up to fascism, save hand-wringing, appeasement and wishful thinking, a failure that has led to this terrible moment in time.

I wonder if Auden's assessment might similarly be applied to the current decade, the 2020's, in which we find ourselves in a not dissimilar situation. A great power, Russia, in the thrall of an 'elected' dictatorship, has invaded a smaller neighbour, Ukraine. After years of supporting the underdog, the world's preeminent superpower, the United States, seemed to have switched sides. It's President is a man for whom the truth is whatever he desires, never mind the facts. In this sense he is more aligned with the dictator than his actual allies.

I can't see this ending well.