Caffeinated Politics

A lesson in genuinely meaningful ethics.

Two very different American stories are in focus this week: rich people and what they do with their wealth. One belongs to Dolly Parton, an iconic superstar who lived a life that treated success like a resource to be shared. The other belongs to Donald Trump, who treats financial success like a branding exercise with a never-ending series of underhanded grasping and sleazy grifting, driven by an ever-growing desire to amass more money.

That is why no one will need to guess why the national mood and tone will not resemble this week, when Trump’s passing makes headlines. Dolly did not need to guess if she would make it to heaven.

Dolly grew up in poverty and became wealthy without becoming hard, vindictive, or seeking retribution from everyone who slighted her. She built her fortune on skill as much as on a winning personality. People wanted to be around her because she was kind. Once she was a shining success, she turned around and poured large portions of success back into the world like she was refilling a neighbor’s coffee cup. Books for kids. Healthcare for families. Scholarships. Disaster relief. Investments in the Smoky Mountains that weren’t about nostalgia but about responsibility. This morning on the radio, I heard the perfect line about Dolly. She moved “outward, forward, and toward people who needed it”.

Trump’s money, on the other hand, tends to move in legal circles. He sues everyone who stands up to his bluster. He then pays in the cases he loses. The porn star he used when he cheated on his third wife. Trump is paying for raping E. Jean Carroll, the judge saying that the jury’s finding of forcible digital sexual abuse meets the common and modern definition of rape used by the Department of Justice and other experts.

Trump’s shallowness leads him to use courtrooms, shell companies, and fundraising operations to operate solely for Trump first, Trump second, and Trump exclusively. The man-child has raised more money off grievances (white male outrage into a revenue stream), shams (Trump University), shake-downs (pre‑checked recurring donation boxes during the 2020 cycle), and aberrant behavior (portraying himself as a victim of persecution rather than lewd and illegal behavior).

What the world knows is that Dolly made her money by being supremely talented and having a good, healthy center. Trump’s empire has always been built on the preposterous premise that the world owes him something, and he’s here to collect, and collect, and collect some more. Dolly’s empire was built on the premise that she owes the world something, and she was here to give.

Dolly’s generosity was mostly quiet and in the background. Trump’s grifting is loud, foul, and thoroughly abrasive. Dolly funded literacy programs. Trump funds legal defenses. Dolly built libraries. Trump builds legal case files. Dolly invested in children. Dolly’s philanthropy was a hand extended. Trump only extends his hand to take money and grab (this is a family-friendly blog).

The ethical lesson is clear.

Be a Dolly Parton.