However when the physical has been stripped away and all that is left ther is privation, sometimes the internal can blossom.
Fortunately it doesn't have to happen that way. Here in the west we are generally better off materially, but nevertheless people find the spiritual in and as the external regardless. It's also beautiful when you see that appreciation for life when there isn't extreme suffering, because it is not a matter of reacting to the physical, nor an aversion toward it.
Of course, what I am referring to does not have anything to do with religious views. The political power dynamics in things like this is not all that powerful in the face of real compassion. When I say that I do not mean any magical power such as one might imagine emitting from a saint or something, but it is simply more powerful because it is more inclusive - it even includes those who might hold themselves in separation in a position of power in the typical sense. After all, you wouldn't expect someone spiritual to go "you unbeliever infidel! you meanie bastard such and such you.." It would probably be more like "that doesn't matter, I love you anyway." Again, not that the love is some commodity given from the good guy to the bad, it just shows up in such a situation, and the divisiveness tends to dissolve, there is a relaxation from the me against you thing.