This is an excerpt from the Progress Texas Daily Dispatch, delivered every weekday by Progress Texas Communications Director Chris Mosser. Rapid response on the breaking news stories Texas progressives need to know—all in less than 10 minutes!

Click below to listen!

And finally y’all, to Dolly Parton, of whom I’ll throw in another of the thousands of tributes that have basically taken over the world’s media, and for good reason. My take is that Dolly served as a definitive example of what it truly means to be Southern. MAGA has distorted Southern gentility into an expression of anger and division, supposedly in defense of their classic traditions. But, they neglect an older, truer Southern tradition—one built on kindness, hospitality, and the universal charge that the strong should protect the vulnerable.

Honoring Dolly Parton upon her passing means honoring the practical wisdom she showed in rising above a political trend built on fear and exclusion—providing a far stronger model of true Southern strength and character. Dolly showed us through her storied career that real wisdom builds up the community rather than tearing it down. Her roots were completely and thoroughly of the American South—but her actions completely and thoroughly transcended the narrow political and ideological lanes in which so many Southerners have imprisoned themselves. 

When she saw to it that hundreds of millions of free books were sent to children, she declared that reading belongs to every kid. When she gave a million of her own dollars to support the creation of the COVID-19 vaccines that freed us from the captivity of the pandemic, she showed that faith and science are anything but mutually exclusive. Dolly proved that trusting science, supporting art, and helping people aren’t an abandonment of our values—rather, they’re the highest form of living them.

It’s interesting, that we’re having this conversation about Dolly Parton on the heels of the news of Texas’ own Kacey Musgraves taking MAGA fire for encouraging her fans to support a charity that looks after unaccompanied migrant kids whose parents have been deported. The same folks who were telling Kacey to shut up and sing earlier this week, are now plastering their Facebook pages with pictures of Dolly Parton—and we hope they’ll consider that Kacey is doing things the way Dolly has done things.

We’re reminded too of Dolly’s dear friend and equally iconic Texan Willie Nelson—who emerged from the same generation of songwriters in Nashville—and who for decades has used his voice to back American farmers and veterans, renewable energy, animal welfare, music education, and basic fairness for all people.

What Dolly and Willie—and representing a new generation, Kacey Musgraves—have shown us is that caring for others is not a revolutionary idea. It is, rather, a deep community wisdom: it embraces the simple truth that our lives are connected, and that real strength comes from widening our circles, not from building higher walls. The politics of fear makes our world smaller, while a more welcoming path offers a far stronger way to live—one that strives for a better future for everyone. Dolly Parton leaves behind an open seat at the table, and an invitation to sit down. She never asked us to give up who we are, in order to choose kindness for each other.

Read the remainder of today's Daily Dispatch here: https://progresstexas.substack.com/p/what-would-dolly-do-and-more?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web