Dolly Parton embodied Christian kindness

During his opening monologue as guest host on Jimmy Kimmel Live, singer Jelly Roll paid an emotional tribute to Dolly Parton following her death, saying she might be the last American everyone liked. His comments seemed both humorous and profoundly sad. In a time when almost everything can become a dividing line — politics, religion, social issues, even what news channel we watch — it is remarkable to think that there was someone whom people on opposite sides of nearly every argument could claim as their own.

I was surprised at how many of my college freshmen were saddened by Dolly’s death or that they even knew who she was. Perhaps my surprise came after having to explain who Cher was to a class last semester. Nobody asked who Dolly Parton was.

Think about Dolly Parton. People who disagree about politics, religion, culture, and just about everything else can still seem to agree on Dolly.

Forgive my generalizations, but liberals liked Dolly. Conservatives liked Dolly. People of faith liked Dolly. People who never darkened the door of a church liked Dolly.

Country music fans loved her, but so did people who would never consider themselves country music fans. She crossed generations, geography, and political divisions in a way that seems almost impossible today. Maybe Jelly Roll was right but when did liking one another become so difficult?

Dolly sang about love, heartbreak, poverty, family, faith, dreams and resilience. She gave generously. She welcomed people. She could laugh at herself. She could laugh with people. She could be glamorous without taking herself too seriously.

She could talk about faith without using it as a weapon. She could disagree without making disagreement an excuse for contempt. She seemed to have mastered something our divided nation desperately needs: The ability to be kind to the people who don’t necessarily think, vote, believe or live the way we do. The problem isn’t disagreement. The problem is when disagreement becomes contempt. In a culture that seems addicted to outrage, Dolly Parton offered another possibility: Kindness.

I am not assuming she pleased everyone on every issue. No human being does. But I think she understood something at a deeper level — we do not have to agree with someone to recognize their humanity. We do not have to believe the same things to treat one another with dignity.

Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God and to love our neighbors. Jesus taught that love was not simply a feeling but also a choice. Love is something we do.

We give. We encourage. We forgive. We make room. We make someone laugh. We hand a child a book. We show up when someone is hurting. We choose kindness when cruelty would be easier. We acknowledge that everyone is a human being created in the image of God.

Maybe Jelly Roll was right. Maybe Dolly Parton really was the last American everyone liked. But instead of asking who will be the next person every American likes we ask: what would happen if each of us decided to become a little more like the kind of person everyone could experience as loved by?