I think it was because we had plenty. No great enemies the threat of nuclear arms and powerful armed forces couldn’t ultimately deter, and no real privations. We thought we could afford to entertain and even implement a lot of bunkum.
I think Lincoln claimed that it is not adversity that tests real character, but affluence.
Ah! Here is the Lincoln quote I was trying to remember:
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
You may very well be right.
I was thinking of Existentialism which came about because of the carnage of WWI and WWII.
It’ll take historians - honest historians - many years to figure out what went wrong.