Emulating Dolly Parton would make America a better nation

In the video announcing Dolly Parton's death, her nephew Bryan Seaver shared a request she had given him years earlier. She wanted to rest in … Thank you for publishing Patrick R. Johnson's eloquent tribute, "Dolly Parton offered another way of being American," in last Sunday's Wisconsin State Journal. We would do well to acknowledge Johnson's succinct summary of a not-so-civil American society: "America is fluent in grievance and quick to name an enemy ― often in a hyperpartisan and polarized way ― while the practical work of making life more livable keeps being deferred." Acknowledgement is the easy part. As Johnson explains: "Building what should come next is harder. Exhaustion shortens my patience, and critique can become a place to stand when the work of repair feels slower and less certain. I am not always the light I need to be." We should applaud Johnson's candor, face our shortcomings and emulate Parton, who "kept pulling up chairs for people unlike her." If we do not, we may find ourselves alone in an empty room with no place to sit when we are tired and need support. Eric Olive, MadisonGet opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!