{"id":2649789,"date":"2026-08-26T08:46:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T12:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignamerica-cant-make-shared-national-treasures-like-dolly-parton-anymore\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T08:52:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T12:52:53","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignamerica-cant-make-shared-national-treasures-like-dolly-parton-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignamerica-cant-make-shared-national-treasures-like-dolly-parton-anymore\/","title":{"rendered":"America Can&#8217;t Make National Treasures Like Dolly Parton Anymore"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignamerica-cant-make-shared-national-treasures-like-dolly-parton-anymore%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2649789&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>dolly Parton will be remembered as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/left-to-their-own-devices\/\" title=\"On Their Own Accord\">uniquely unifying figure<\/a> in American history, admired across political divides as a national treasure and icon. Unlike some contemporary female contry stars like Kacey Musgraves, who have openly engaged in political activism and alienated certain fans, parton maintained her faith and values without partisan attacks, choosing instead to focus on kindness, community, and entertainment. She avoided politicization, rejected awards like the Presidential Medal of Freedom when politicized, and prioritized uplifting her audience over engaging in political battles. Her approach exemplifies a rare ability to bridge differences, preserve shared cultural experiences, and prioritize love and faith over division-traits that are increasingly absent in today&#8217;s celebrity and political landscapes.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>In the days and weeks ahead, Dolly Parton will be honored for many of her accomplishments and wonderful characteristics, but one in particular will be her place in American history as a figure that spanned the divide of politics. We will watch both the left and the right hail her as a \u201cnational treasure\u201d and an \u201cAmerican icon\u201d in a way that we may never see again. The beloved country music star\u2019s death is another heartbreaking reminder that, for many reasons, America can no longer produce stars or heroes that can earn or sustain a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >wide cultural fan base comparable<\/a> to Parton\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Consider today\u2019s female country music stars, such as Kacey Musgraves, who like Parton came from a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-tesla-owner-blows-up-car-after-22k-repair-quote\/\" title=\"WATCH: Tesla Owner Blows Up Car After K Repair Quote\">small rural town<\/a>, but unlike Parton, quickly abandoned her hometown\u2019s values. Just this week, Musgraves kicked off a concert in Chicago by suspending from the ceiling sitting on a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TaraBull\/status\/2091140831847567378\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">testicle-shaped disco ball<\/a>, and then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/kacey-musgraves-divides-fans-immigrant-children-plea-faces-boycott-calls-shut-up-sing\">as<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/kacey-musgraves-divides-fans-immigrant-children-plea-faces-boycott-calls-shut-up-sing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">king fans<\/a> to donate to a charity for children \u201cwhose parents have been deported unfairly.\u201d She\u2019s also had her share of angry tweets at the president and <a href=\"https:\/\/fox17.com\/news\/local\/kacey-musgraves-to-trump-true-leaders-dont-stand-back-and-watch-the-world-burn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">calls for gun control<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, Parton refused to alienate fans on either side of the political aisle, and not just because it was financially savvy to do so. She was an outspoken Christian her entire life, and openly cited her faith in God as the motivation behind every personal and career move she made.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never do anything that I don\u2019t pray about. And I always ask God to lead me and show me and direct me. To do things that would glorify him and uplift mankind,\u201d Parton <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DceXFZjug6m\/?igsi=aWhhMXphZzNzcXNn\">said<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>In 2017, Parton joined her \u201980s co-stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin on stage at the Emmys to present an award. While Fonda and Tomlin went all in on using their microphone to attack President Trump as <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/4945537\/9-to-5-cast-emmys-reunion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201ca sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot boss,\u201d<\/a> Parton refused to join in, standing next to them silently.<\/p>\n<p>Parton was asked about that moment on stage a few years later on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wnycstudios.org\/podcasts\/dolly-partons-america\/episodes\/dollitics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">podcast<\/a>. Parton shared that what she didn\u2019t say on stage, but wanted to. \u201cI wanted to say, \u2018Let\u2019s pray for the president. Why don\u2019t we pray for the president? If we\u2019re having all these problems, let\u2019s just, you know, why don\u2019t just we pray for Mr. President?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment\/music\/la-et-ms-dolly-parton-grammy-museum-20190206-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">interview in 2019<\/a>, an interviewer tried to get Parton to take the bait on political discourse when it came to women\u2019s rights, considering her role in the movie <em>9 to 5<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Parton recognized the reality of harassment in workplaces and affirmed her consistent backing of equal pay for women, though she stopped short of embracing the label of feminism.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t consider myself a feminist,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I\u2019m feminine. And I believe that women should be treated with respect and be allowed to do whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And yet none of these examples are intended to make the case that Parton was a closeted conservative or secret Trump supporter. Quite the opposite. She rejected Trump\u2019s attempt to honor her with a Presidential Medal of Freedom, not once but twice. On the left, LGBT activists long considered Parton an \u201cally\u201d and a \u201cgay icon.\u201d On the day of her passing, the official account of the Democratic Socialists of America <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DemSocialists\/status\/2092356269688697067\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">honored<\/a> Parton as \u201ca hero of the working-class.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t believe that I should offend people that don\u2019t have that same opinion by voicing my own opinion,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/music\/story\/2021-02-02\/dolly-parton-turned-down-medal-of-freedom-twice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">she told the Los Angeles Times<\/a> in 2019. \u201cI\u2019m an entertainer; I can live it, I can write about it, I can joke, lift people up in my own way. But I don\u2019t see no reason for me to get involved in political fights.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Parton understood something that modern-day Hollywood and Nashville have forgotten: You don\u2019t have to choose between erasing your values or becoming a partisan megaphone. She preserved a rare common ground for all fans, but without backing away from her faith or her mountain roots. She simply rose above the political fray and doubled down on taking care of her community and her fans. <\/p>\n<p>Celebrities on both sides of the political spectrum raise money and \u201cawareness\u201d for their culture war item of choice and their favorite flavor of politician, while Parton spent decades mailing millions of books to poor children in Appalachia and beyond. Where today\u2019s artists see an audience to be lectured, Parton saw people to be entertained, comforted, and loved.<\/p>\n<p>America has lost more than just a famous singer or songwriter. We are mourning the loss of shared cultural experiences. Parton is a relic of a different country \u2014 one that is much different now than the one she entered.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Madeline Osburn is an editor at The Federalist. Contact her at madeline@thefederalist.com or <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/madelineorr\">follow her on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dolly Parton: A unifying American cultural icon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":590,"featured_media":2649790,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9518135738_a3d0816e93_h.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[44135,34884,39469,84678],"class_list":["post-2649789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-american-culture","tag-country-music","tag-dolly-parton","tag-national-treasures"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9518135738_a3d0816e93_h.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/590"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2649789"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2649793,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649789\/revisions\/2649793"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2649790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2649789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2649789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2649789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}