I wonder how much of this was brought on by the Cold War and constant headlines of one-ups-manship by nation-states and maybe that sub-consciously fed into US c

I wonder how much of this was brought on by the Cold War and constant headlines of one-ups-manship by nation-states and maybe that sub-consciously fed into US culture. The only reference points and influences people had were socializing with others and 3 TV channels. No internet, facebook, instagram or twitter. In todays culture you can find nearly any group you want to associate with online. You won't feel like an outcast and if you live in a populated enough area you can probably find like-minded people. I think with this available, if you see your neighbors have new fine china (new fancy car, or whatever) and that isn't your thing, you pretty much don't care.