What Dolly Parton Taught Us About Common Ground

You Might Be Right

In this special episode of 'You Might Be Right,' former Tennessee Governors Phil Bredesen and Bill Haslam reflect on the life, legacy, and u

Key takeaways

• Dolly Parton's ability to transcend partisan politics stemmed from her humility and refusal to judge others.
• She led by example rather than preaching, embodying the principle of living as one wishes others to live.

Main topics

• Dolly Parton's cross-cultural appeal
• Humility in public life

Notable quotes

"I'm not a good enough Christian to be judging other people. That's God's job."

Conclusion

Dolly Parton's life offers a powerful model for leadership and connection in divided

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:02) You're used to hearing my voice on the world, bringing you interviews from around the globe. Speaker 2 (0:06) And you hear me reporting environment and climate news. I'm Carolyn Beeler. And Speaker 1 (0:12) I'm Marco Werman. We're now with you hosting the world together. More global journalism with a fresh new sound. Speaker 2 (0:18) Listen to the world on your local public radio station and wherever you find your podcasts. Speaker 4 (0:33) Welcome to You Might Be Right, a place for civil conversations about tough topics, hosted by former Tennessee governors Bill Bredesen and Bill Haslam. I'm Marianne Wanamaker, Dean of the Baker School at the University of Tennessee, where members of our producer circle make this show possible. To learn more about our work, visit youmightberight.org. Speaker 5 (0:58) I also figured out a long, long time ago that it was not meant for me to have kids so that everybody's children could be mine. And now that's a mighty big family and a mighty big responsibility. And the Imagination Library came from this place, from my desire to do something to inspire the little kids to read and to learn. I just never dreamed that so many other generous souls like Rotaries, United Way, the State of Tennessee, foundations, you name it, would invest their hard-earned dollars into this effort. And their kindness has now helped us give away, since we started this whole program, 20 million books. That's saying a lot. Governor, we appreciate you for all that, too. Speaker 5 (1:52) The governor and I have made a wonderful team. I love working with him. He's become a buddy of mine. And every time I hear that he's going to be where I am, I get so excited. I try on about 15 outfits so I can look good for you. I'm not joking. It's true. And like Elvis, I comb my hair 52 different ways, thinking the governor's coming, the governor's coming. Anyway. Speaker 6 (2:20) Wow, Phil, like I kind of thought Dolly and I were friends, but she didn't talk about me that way. Are you blushing over there? Speaker 7 (2:26) I am. And but it's not a new experience. I think half the times I've been with her, I end up blushing it at some point. But I've seen her do it to more worldly people than me, though. I saw her make Johnny Carson blush in a clip one time and have she can do that, you know? Speaker 6 (2:42) Well, hey. We wanted to have this special episode because Dolly was not only an extraordinary musician, not only extraordinary humanitarian and wonderful in her philanthropy, but she really had a style that brought people together. She's one of the few people I know that kind of across a political spectrum, people loved her. So, Phil, you knew her well. What was it about Dolly that made that happen? Our show is about trying to bridge the divide. And Dolly was a person that could do that. What, how'd she do it? You Speaker 7 (3:17) know, I think, I mean, I certainly don't have any, you know, brilliant insight, but I think it was her humility and just willingness to accept everybody as they, you know, as they were. I saw an interview, I guess it was several years ago that she did, it might've been with the Guardian. where she said, I'm not a good enough Christian to be judging other people. That's God's job. And I think if all of us could adopt that notion, the politics would certainly be a better place. Speaker 6 (3:53) I do think because Dolly was a person to continue on the Christian theme, because Dolly was a person of grace, intended to give people grace. People kind of gave that to her and it became a little contagious, don't you think? Speaker 7 (4:07) Yeah, absolutely. I mean, there was I mean, it was it was hard to act out the worst of yourself around and, you know, in her presence. I mean, she was she was so, so accepting. I think she said in that same interview something about that she thought the thing to do was to live the way you wanted other people to be and not to preach about it. And that's a pretty good way to conduct yourself, I think. Speaker 6 (4:34) One time in 2014, when I was running for re-election, Dolly said, you know, I don't get involved in politics, but you'd be great if I have an idea of how we might be able to help you without actually getting involved in politics. We're going to have the grand opening of the fall campaign in 2014 in Dollywood. We're going to have a parade. Why don't you come walk with me? which was one of the most foolish errands I've ever been on because being in a parade with Dolly is akin to being totally invisible. So I had two thoughts. Like, number one, I could be doing cartwheels down the road and nobody would notice me if I could do cartwheels. But the second was, this is in Pigeon Forge, and there's both a group that would be a gospel music crowd, if you will, and then an LGBT crowd all packed into this parade. Speaker 6 (5:24) huge fans of Dolly. And so I think, again, that ability to appeal was something that was truly unique for Dolly. Speaker 7 (5:31) And again, I think it was, you know, I think it was just the way, I mean, she lived her life like I described, which is trying to not preach to other people, but to be an example. And I think the important thing was just that sort of humility. I mean, it's rare. I'm not even sure I know anybody else who's a superstar like she was, who had that you know, that's very down to earth, you know, humble approach to the world. And I think it really has served her well. And then, you know, it was a wonderful thing for our whole country to see. Speaker 6 (6:00) Well, I think a couple of things that I'd emphasize about Dolly, part of what you just said is most really super, super stars like her, and they're not a whole lot of people in her class, but even people who are, you know, not quite as famous as her, at the end of the day, they lose all sense of humility. And, you know, the never forgetting where you're from was true of her, but just realizing that, you know, she could make fun