Letters to the Editor do not reflect the opinions of The Reporter, its publisher or its staff. You can submit your own Letter to the Editor by email to News@ReadTheReporter.com. Please include your phone number and city of residence. The Reporter will publish one letter per person per week.
Dear Editor:
The United States has always been a place where you can start from the poorest of the poor, climb out of poverty, and find success. Dolly Parton was such a case.
Born into abject poverty in Sevier County, Tenn., in 1946, Dolly clawed her way out of poverty with her God-given talent. Most know her for her over the top outfits studded in rhinestones alongside her country hit “Jolene” and ‘I Will Always Love You,” but there was more to the Queen of Country Music than that.
She constantly gave back to her community. She single-handedly drove down the dropout rate in Sevier County in 1988 by having all the seventh- and eighth-grade students pick a buddy and sign a contract that if both of them graduate they would both get $500. The dropout rate fell from 35 percent to 6 percent.
That is not all.
When the city of Gatlinburg was devastated in 2016 from wildfires, Dolly personally paid 900 families $1,000 a month for six months from her own pocket to help them rebuild and recover.
Dolly embodied the deepest principles of American Exceptionalism. She never forgot her values, her home, God, and love of America despite being at the peak of wealth and success. Perpetually positive and kind, she never forgot the little guy.
She funded the LeConte Medical Center in Pigeon Forge and ensured that it had a birthing unit and women’s center. Dolly believed education was the strongest tool a person could obtain and her Imagination Library program helps give children that opportunity through free books monthly from birth to age 5.
As we witness the outpouring of support from every walk of life, it confirms that Dolly truly was a figure of Americana, beyond petty fights and partisan bickering, just pure kindness and love. That transcendence demonstrates that she was our modern Columbia personified.
It is truly rare in modern society to see a singular person have nearly everyone in agreement that they had a positive impact on the world around them, and it’s that positivity that harkens back to the founding of our nation that hope springs eternal for the future with Columbia lighting the way forward – that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights. Dolly embodied those rights of Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness through her music, her philanthropy, and how she lived her life. She became the shining beacon in the dark that you can be yourself, do your best, and find that America will always love you back.
Dolly truly was and is our rhinestone Lady Liberty in A Coat of Many Colors.
Rest in Peace Dolly Parton. You will forever be missed.
Nickolas Freeman
Anderson, Ind.
Be the first to comment on "Dolly Parton: America’s modern Columbia"