I keep seeing people making the claim that Dolly Parton was a non-political celebrity. See, the word they’re thinking is partisan.
Dolly wasn’t someone who actively campaigned for a political party, but she was absolutely someone with a desire to help others and solve societal problems.
She helped fund Moderna’s COVID vaccine. And she’s spent money establishing a non-profit children’s hospital in her home state of Tennessee and continued to fund it to improve pediatric care.
She donated to disaster relief multiple times, including directly giving cash donations to families trying to rebuild their lives, with no strings attached.
As of 2025, her Imagination Library had donated over 300 million books to children across the country (including my kids). But this wasn’t her only educational contribution. She established scholarships in her home county to encourage kids there to finish high school. Employees at Dollywood were able to get tuition covered to further their education.
She was also a consistent LGBTQ ally, and made a point to ground that support within her overall belief in the goodness of people as well as her Christian faith.
She acted to care for her fellow people. She believed that neighbors struggling with disaster need support, that kids who need a boost to stick with their education should get it, and that health improving the health care of others isn’t a burden solely carried by each individual. That everyone has a place at the table, and no one should be cast out for being who they are.
Those are all ideas about how we should live together as a society. How we should care for each other.
The problem is that people see politics as a profession, or as a partisan blood sport. As a kayfabe entertainment where talking heads argue on camera and get drinks when they think no one is watching.
Dolly was political, but not a politician. Dolly was political the way Jesus was political. Dolly thought the world would be better if we took better care of each other and gave each other more respect.
If she saw a way she could help, she did. Call it charity, kindness, philanthropy. Call it punk af. But that kind of radical kindness was absolutely a political act.
This Builds Character 