I am pleased in today’s overwhelming divisiveness and loneliness this review was given life.

Read the full review of The Airport Chaplain on socialworker.com

Read the full review of The Airport Chaplain on socialworker.com

by SaraKay Smullens, MSW, LCSW, DCSW, CGP, CFLE, BCD

      The captivating, authentic series, The Airport Chaplain, offers a longed-for community, multi-layered principals, and a master class in vicarious and secondary trauma.

     As in past reviews, there will be social work framing and reflection, but no spoilers.

     I watched most of the eight-part Australian drama series, The Airport Chaplain (available to us through Netflix) on the 25th anniversary of 9/11. The caring neighborhood communities that many remember in our youth, where we knew and cared about owners of stores we frequented who watched us grow up, were on their way to vanishing 25 years ago. Yet, on that horrific day America came together as one, united in grief and the determination to go forward united, caring for each other, protecting our rule of law and constitution, together.   

     Today, this united determination has been stymied (not killed!), through the breathtaking pace of the tech revolution, birthing a myriad of I (to me isolation) devices. Further, our differences, which once marked the beauty and hope of preserving our ever-vulnerable democracy, have been exacerbated by powerful leadership determined to pull us apart for their own purposes of control, power, dominance, and wealth. 

     At the same time, our ever-present personal I-devices bring us national tragedies and catastrophe, devoid of local news, while in far too many communities enemies of a living constitution have taken over elected and appointed local city boards and councils, determined to reverse (scratch that, destroy) the pendulum described by our beloved Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one that moved us (albeit slowly) toward equal opportunities and justice.  

     The enormous draw of series like The Pitt and The Airport Chaplain is that they represent the important concept of community that we have lost. Individuals in the same setting care about each other, discuss, and argue, but without ugliness or hatred. They solve differences together, not at home working alone in isolation on their computers. Even those who never knew this quality of community long for it, hunger for it, especially today when all that has divided has brought not only loneliness, but a feeling of aloneness.

Read the full review of The Airport Chaplain on socialworker.com

I am grateful that The Philadelphia Inquirer gave life to my submission. It speaks for itself.

To the editor:

America's ongoing master class in bullying serves an essential purpose of enlightenment. It has now been clearly demonstrated that inside every bully is a baby, forever parroting: "I want, I want. Me, me, me." The bullying babies are everywhere — in homes, work settings, and, as we have clearly seen, in elected office. Prone to tantrums, they bluster constantly but often do not follow through. They merely adore reading and hearing about themselves, putting their names wherever they can, and complaining that all of their genius has not been lauded fully enough. A sure sign of a bullying baby is how much they love toys and games, such as a new private plane, with all kinds of bells and whistles, gifted by those we must be wary of.

Some have found a way to ignore the bullying baby in the White House. As to the baby's rants and threats, Brando Benifei, the chair of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with the United States, said, "We don't take them so seriously anymore." Still, there are dangers inherent in these bullying babies. When their bluff is called, they can act out to prove to the world - and themselves — that they are strong. So far, the U.S. has kidnapped the president of Venezuela and his wife, killed dozens in illegal strikes against alleged drug boats, and started an ill-conceived war that has claimed thousands of lives, including those of 18 Americans. At home, National Guard troops needlessly patrol Washington, and his immigration agents have brought terror and misery across The nation.

An all-consuming trait shared by bullying babies is the inordinate need for control - over everyone and everything. Would that extend to seeking control over our upcoming midterm elections? As incredible as that threat may seem, who could have imagined our bullying baby in chief's refusal to accept a legitimate 2020 electoral defeat, his undermining of the rule of law. his desertion of America's friends. his stomach wrenching adoration of dictators. or his violations of the people's White House? This inconceivable threat cannot be ruled out.

SaraKay Smullens
Philadelphia

Published in The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 2, 2026

I welcome the opportunity to point to life threatening parallels in our personal and political worlds.

To the editor:

The longer I live the more I see how family difficulties and those that must be confronted in our society have parallels. One mutual theme is denial — in therapist lingo it is far, far more than a river in Egypt. It is the inability or refusal to see glaring truth. For example, when a daughter speaks up about sexual abuse — most often by a close family member — her mother often refuses to believe her for myriad reasons, usually supported by other family members, including siblings. In time, with support, a violated young person can move on with their own life, even if rejected by blood relatives. Let’s use this lens to look at the sneaky removal of the truth about the people enslaved by George Washington at the President’s House.

It is not coincidental that it was done in the cover of darkness by those who refuse to face the truth. The panels depict violations endured by human beings treated like chattel. They were ugly things to consider, but they were things America must face. Regardless of the stony path of reality, a country, like a family, must face the truth to move forward together with any semblance of health. Once we find the courage to confront reality together, there is no problem that we cannot solve.

Of course, a young, abused woman whose family does not face the truth of her hell can move on. But a split on the truth is something America cannot survive. Tragically, this split is being fed by leadership in Congress and the White House. There is only one way to address this cancer in our midst. There is only one way for America to survive. I ask all who support Donald Trump to face the truth: We no longer have a president leading and inspiring America. We have only a dictator, committed to denying us the opportunity to come together and heal.

SaraKay Smullens
Philadelphia

Published in The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 2, 2026