We will always love her

If you're having one of those days where things are dull and you can't seem to get a conversation going, just ask people how they feel about the monuments to the failed Confederacy that dot the nation like papules.  You'll get a conversation that might go on until way past dinner.

Down in Tennessee, there's a new petition calling for those statues to be replaced by the truly statuesque Dolly Parton. A man named Alex Parsons has a movement on Change.org petition. It says, "Tennessee is littered with statues memorializing confederate officers. History should not be forgotten, but we need not glamorize those who do not deserve our praise. Instead, let us honor a true Tennessee hero, Dolly Parton."

With great justification, there is a debate nationwide about race and racism and bigotry since the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

Dolly is more than a singer, songwriter, and amusement park operator. As Parsons says, "While the idea of replacing all of those monuments with Dolly Parton may seem funny, the history of those monuments is anything but. The vast majority of these monuments to the confederacy were constructed in direct opposition to the reconstruction and civil rights movements of the early 20th century and the 60's and 70's."

He continues,  "Memorials to the Confederacy were intended, in part, to obscure the terrorism required to overthrow Reconstruction, and to intimidate African Americans politically and isolate them from the mainstream of public life."

The news reports I read from Tennessee all identify Parsons as "a fan," and that's good to hear. It means he's not out to make a buck. He says he wants to honor Dolly because her "philanthropic heart has unquestionably changed the world for the better. From the Dollywood foundation that has provided books and scholarships to millions of American children, to the millions of dollars she has donated to dozens of organizations such as the Red Cross and COVID-19 research centers, Dolly Parton has given more to this country and this state than those confederate officers could ever have hoped to take away," is how  the petition reads.

Parton's philanthropy includes the Imagination Library, which gives Tennessee kids a book for free every month from birth til they start in school,  the Dollywood Foundation, which grants money to kids from her home county when they are graduated from high school, the telethon she organized that raised $13 million for victims of a catastrophic arson wildfire, the My People Fund, The My People Fund, which gave $5,000 to victims of that fire for long-term recovery (a total of $8.9 million to those who needed it most) and her benefaction of the LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville, Tenn. It features the  30,000-square-foot Dolly Parton Center for Women's Services.

It would stand to reason that Ms Parton deserves more recognition in our world today than a suboptimal person such as Nathan Bedford Forrest. Let's hope it happens!