Forgiveness is All There Is
Last weekend I found myself at Dollywood, Dolly Parton’s theme park in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.
In preparation for this trip, I revisited the Radiolab podcast Dolly Parton’s America from 2019. It’s a fascinating dissection of Parton’s enduring and widespread popularity. I highly recommend it if you haven’t listened to it. I didn’t know much about Parton prior to listening, and it served as an excellent primer to her story but also the ways in which it refracts so many common American themes and contradictions.
The second episode chronicles Parton’s professional breakup with country music singer Porter Wagoner early on in her career. While leaving this layered relationship, the story goes that she wrote the iconic song “I Will Always Love You” and sang it to Wagoner in parting. Though he went on to defame and sue her, Parton held no ill-will towards him, and even visited his bedside in his final days. In the podcast, she is asked if she believes in forgiveness. In typical Dolly fashion, she replies with a line that won’t leave my head: “Forgiveness? Forgiveness is all there is.”
Like so many unforgettable lines from her songs, this pierced through as a genuine truth. Forgiveness is how we move on and rebuild from hard times and hurt times. It makes community a real long-term possibility. It allows us the space to make mistakes and try again. Forgiveness allows us to be human.