Opinion

Why Dolly Parton could bring together Americans who agree on almost nothing

From her Imagination Library to her delight in people, Parton embodied the belief that humanity grows when shared

By Robert V. Taylor Fox News

Published August 26, 2026 7:03pm EDT

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Remembering Dolly Parton: Country music icon dies at 80

Dolly Parton, the Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and philanthropist whose career spanned over six decades, has died at age 80.

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Throughout her life, Dolly Parton kept reminding me of something beautiful about being human.

Perhaps you noticed it too.

Her death has brought an outpouring of affection from people who otherwise might agree on very little. And it leaves me wondering: What was it about Dolly? Talent alone doesn't explain it. Success doesn't explain it. Even her extraordinary generosity doesn't fully explain it.

DOLLY PARTON DIES AT THE AGE OF 80: A LOOK AT HER LIFE THROUGH PHOTOS

I suspect we recognized something deeper — a way of being human that somehow enlarged the humanity around her.

Many years ago, my friend Archbishop Desmond Tutu introduced me to an African word that has stayed with me ever since: Ubuntu. It is often translated as "I am because we are."

Over time, I have experienced Ubuntu less as a definition and more as a way of moving through the world. It is the quiet conviction that another person's life can become larger because you showed up. It is the belief that another person's humanity matters too much to be reduced to a label, a failure, a fear or someone else's judgment.

Dolly Parton struck me as someone who intuitively Ubuntued her way through life.

DOLLY PARTON'S ‘ALL-AMERICAN HEART’: HOW COUNTRY ICON FORGED SPECIAL BOND WITH US MILITARY

In an America........

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