It’s been about three weeks since America lost its truest sweetheart, Dolly Parton, our Queen of Country Music, on Aug. 25, 2026. Her death prompted tributes across the news and all over social media. Even the president ordered flags at half-mast until Sept. 1 to honor the Smoky Mountain Songbird.

We hear every day about how our country is divided beyond repair. We’re surrounded by outrageous news all the time. But something unique happened in the wake of Dolly’s death: people from across not only the United States but the world came together to mourn and remember a celebrity. Of course, Dolly was more than a celebrity; her fans felt like they really knew her. They were proud of her. They felt her love. She had extended the magic within her out to her family, and then to her hometown, and then to her home state, and then to her country and  ...