Philip Hensher

Dolly Parton represents all that’s best about America

Sarah Smarsh’s biography reminds us of Dolly’s energy and talent — and the philanthropy that has made her such a force for good

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issue 16 January 2021

After the storming of Congress last week, numerous American commentators looked at the Proud Boys, the QAnon Shaman and Trump himself and said, in so many words: ‘This is not who we are.’ Undoubtedly true. It raises, however, an interesting supplementary question: who, in fact, are you?

Looking through the ranks of those who might represent the best values of America, we arrive quite quickly at Dolly Parton.

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