It’s occurred to me that Dolly Parton and JD Vance represent the spectrum of what comes from Appalachia. So—a couple of thoughts.
I mean—it’s interesting that
they both came from families in grinding poverty; Dolly in Tennessee and Shady
in Ohio and maybe Kentucky. (I frankly can’t be arsed to research. His parents
were in Ohio, but he spent time with his grandparents in Kentucky, I think.) Hers
was a loving, happy family, while his appears to have been dysfunctional.
Something about drugs, I dunno. Maybe that accounts for the contrast in
strength of character?
Because Dolly’s life of grace,
generosity, acceptance and joy was built on a core of integrity, honesty and an
abiding sense of fairness, while Vance is a grifting, lying, shapeshifting
opportunist, eager to latch on to anyone and any ideology that he thinks will
advance his personal goals. (Which I think revolve around acquiring wealth and
power.)
They both made their
Appalachian heritage focal points of their careers. Dolly captured universal truths
couched in images of the mountains in the more than 3000 songs she wrote in her
lifetime. She never exploited her subjects in the process, though. Couch Boy shat
on the people he grew up with in his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, to both
make a buck and declare his superiority.
Shall we speak of charity? Compare
the millions that Dolly’s contributed to her community and the world—seeing a
need and stepping up to meet it, from early childhood literacy to medical
research—with…uh…yeah, I got nothin’. His charity is mostly self-directed,
which is truly on brand.
As for faith, Dolly lived hers
in her actions with consistency and humility. JD journeyed from evangelicalism
to atheism to a form of Catholicism that somehow gives him the unmitigated gall
to instruct the Pope on theology. His new opus, delving into his spiritual path is more of the same Elegy performative exceptionalism, for which he has used his office as the vice president to promote sales. The cover of the book features a very picturesque country church; a Methodist church, into which he has never set foot. Also, I believe, like the grandees of the 17th
Century, Mr. Late-life Convert prefers to have Mass said in a private setting
in his official quarters, rather than mix with the plebs in the local parish. (Okay—TBF,
the folks at Saint Thomas the Apostle lucked out in this regard.)
Someone whose blog I support last
week said he was going to church to pray for the repose of Dolly’s soul. I
thought, well, okaybut—I cannot imagine anyone leaving this life with any more
certainty of the welcome she’ll receive in the next than Dolly Parton. By any
measure, her soul is guaranteed to rest easy.
JD? Yeah, not so much.
©2026 Bas Bleu
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