Dolly Parton was amazing. She did not judge anyone. She chose not to be a billionaire
or even multimillionaire because she truly wanted to help people. She donated to
numerous charities and helped those in need all the time. Her Imagination Library gave
every child who asked a free book from their birthing until they started school. Hundreds
of millions of children all over the world have books to read because of Dolly. When a
fire burned her hometown, she gave everyone who was impacted money every month
for a year to help them get back on their feet.

She didn’t care who you were, who you loved, who you worshiped, who you voted for,
or where you came from. She accepted everyone. She was great at not being pinned
down to a position because it simply wasn’t anyone’s business what she privately
thought. It is what she publicly did. She didn’t discriminate ever. She was public about
her faith in god as a Christian but also talked about the big tent of kindness, compassion
and love was the most important thing to focus on not anything else. She often said she
didn’t care who you worshiped, you were welcome in her life.

I have tried to be more like her. I have been practicing not judging anyone over the past
few years. It’s hard at times when we grow up in a culture where judgement is built in.
Where being competitive is important in everything from grades to sports to looks to
success. This led to the losers and winners mentality. It then morphs into a person
judging who is winner and loser. Who is best to follow or leave behind. It is hard to take
judgement out of my life. It can be a daily struggle. Especially when you have family
who want to judge me and my actions. I spent the last week watching and reading about
Dolly and her life. If we all could be more like Dolly this world would be better. She
simply refused to judge people. She said that was God’s job not hers. What an amazing
thing. I fell in love with her in the 1970’s when I first heard the song Coat of Many
Colors. I have followed her since.

I worked for the US Forest Service. I truly believed in the agency’s mission of Caring for
the Land and Serving the People. I loved working in public service. It didn’t pay well at
all, but I didn’t care. I got to be outdoors. I was able develop programs for children to
learn about nature. I help develop non-profit groups that were dedicated to helping with
work on public lands and providing recreation or education to children. As a firefighter, I
helped people in their time of need. I have found that many in the US don’t understand
public service. That is never more evident than now with this current administration.
They truly don’t understand public service is a calling and an honor. Dolly understood

this. Look at her charitable work. Look her Dollywood, which was built to help the
economy of her hometown when jobs were nonexistent she created them.
Recently, I have struggled with a son who wants me to be more Christian like him. As a
child I took him and his brother to a couple different Christian churches. We went to
Powwow’s and tribal blessing events. I took them to several multicultural events as they
grew up. I tried to expose them to several points of view about religion including
paganism. We discussed different aspects of religion as he grew up. His father went
back to the Catholic church before he passed which brought in another aspect of belief
in Christ. I asked him to look at Dolly and how she embraced everyone last week. He
wasn’t open to listening. He is either you believe what I believe or you are damned to
hell. It hurts to see he has become so close minded to the very thing he was exposed to
growing up. He says he doesn’t remember any of what I have described above. I wish I
could open his mind and heart up but that isn’t possible right now. He is the very person
who would benefit from understanding Dolly’s view of embracing everyone regardless of
who they are. All I can do is tell him that I love him and his family. If that isn’t enough for
him, that is his choice. I still love him.

There are so many like him right now in this country. Yes, it maybe found in other places
but in the US we are truly a divided country. It will take longer to heal this great nation
than it has taken to tear us apart. Trust is gone. Facts are not the same depending on
where you get your social media and views from. There are many people who are very
good at manipulating people through nuances in facts, information and their voice. Dolly
was the one person I followed and listened to who could navigate this current world with
joy and understanding. She simply welcomed everyone with a smile and a hug. We all
need Dolly but she is gone now. Who is left that is like Dolly? I challenge everyone to
be more like Dolly.