It feels weird to speak of a world without Dolly in it. I grew up on her music, her variety show, and in the shadow of her influence on our culture, particularly here in the South. To call her an icon is to understate the case.
It feels a bit weirder to talk about her "authenticity." Put mildly, Dolly had some aesthetic work done. The photo to the left shows only a part of that work over the years. Dolly dressed garishly, on purpose, wore a lot of makeup, had big hair and big ..... other things.
But the biggest part of her was her personality, and beneath the fake hair, complexion, nails, and ...... other things...... I doubt anyone ever encountered a more real person.
A friend of mine commented yesterday, quoting someone from Twitter, "she was the real that people in this country strive to be."
Her faith is well known. Dolly played up the "spiritual but not religious" aspects, but one listen to her catalog begins to reveal some deep roots in Southern Christianity. The realest part of her was her faith. In a 2019 interview, she said "I always felt responsible to God that I was supposed to be doing something for God. I still feel like that, and I'm still doing it, trying to. Sinning all the way, but trying my best, and asking forgiveness seventy times seven." She lived her faith, out loud, unapologetic, and real, just like her. Christianity wasn't something she believed. It was a life she lived.
Our Lord teaches us, "you will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them." The list of Dolly Parton's charity efforts is far too long to recite here, and is mostly well known, though Dolly only spoke of them herself to help further the charities. From paying schoolchildren if they graduated high school (reducing the dropout rate in her hometown from over 30% to around 6% in the process), to giving away free books, to helping victims of fires or funding COVID vaccines, she tried to give away substantial portions of her fortune, estimated at over $450 million. She likely will continue funding charity long after her death yesterday.
Money neither saves nor condemns, but what you do with it matters. But it was never just the money -- Dolly spent time in her communities, pushed up people, and was a guiding light for goodness, mercy and charity in this world.
But that is not all. She was married to her husband for 59 years until death parted them last year. "Jolene" is a testament to her love for her husband and appreciation for the sanctity of marriage, and yet still manages to give the auburn-haired, emerald-eyed foil a measure of grace. Every community, every group, every clique in the world seems to love her. It's not because she caved into every demand of special interest groups. It's because she loved every human person, unconditionally, and without apology. She purposely avoided taking political sides, even at times when such was demanded of public figures. She would not stoop to degrade anyone. She always radiated love for her fellow man. It was this love, in part, that pushed her to eschew divisive rhetoric and public posturing:
"I ain't that good a Christian to think that I am so good that I can judge people. That's God's job, not mine. So as far as politics, I hate politics. Hate politics."
Hating politics, but loving people and refusing to judge them? It's hard to conceive of a better example for modern Christians to emulate.
She wasn't perfect, of course. She would be the first to tell you that. But in a world of Kardashians (all of whom Dolly surely loved too), I hope we can all agree we should try harder to be like Dolly.
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