BuzzFlash Guest Contribution

CONTRIBUTOR ARCHIVES  

Dr. Dobson, Be Advised: Don’t Mess with Tennessee Women…Especially Dolly Parton!

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION
by Dr. Teresa Whitehurst

Dr. Dobson, I realize that in this time of war, natural disasters, and sick Americans who can’t get medical care, you’ve been dreadfully busy with your campaign to protect our great nation from Mr. Squarepants. Nonetheless, I feel it is my responsibility as a fellow Tennessee woman to warn you: Do not, under any circumstances, tangle with Ms. Dolly Parton.

When I saw the story about your organization’s attacks on the singers who’ve put together a CD to promote love and appreciation for diversity, I knew that most of the folks you’re targeting through Focus on the Family will pose no problems for you. Going down the list, I noted that many of them have spoken out against the Bush administration, the War of Terror, or conservative Christian intolerance at one time or another, and have suffered the backlash from raging "patriotic" Republicans.

Focus on the Family refers to love as "a Trojan horse"; Love is not to be trusted. As your "gender analyst" says, "'love,' after all, sounds good to everyone." (With love in such short supply in America today, I have to admit it sounds pretty wonderful to me.)

Some of the people you’re attacking for allegedly trying to make straight people turn gay by stressing love have actually been more subdued in recent months, for reasons of personal safety or social pressure. So you can probably cut them to the quick without worrying that public opinion could suddenly turn against you. But then I saw that one little name…

The complete lineup of artists contributing to the CD follows: Christina Aguilera, Pink, Simply Red, Dixie Chicks, Nada Surf, Dido, Jen Foster, the Bootlickers, L.P., Sophie B. Hawkins, Keaton Simons, Rachael Yamagata, Matt Alber, Kinnie Starr, Eric Hinman, Carole King, Mandy Moore, Melissa Etheridge, the B-52's, Cyndi Lauper, Kimberley Locke, Yoko Ono, BT, Dave Koz, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Garrin Benfield, Ari Gold, Jason and deMarco, Randi Driscoll, Billy Porter and Oleta Adams

Dr. Dobson, have you not seen 9 to 5? If you haven’t, I would advise you to buy a copy at once. In this film, Ms. Parton is harassed by "a sexist, egotistical, hypocritical bigot" who’s hostile to non-submissive women and thinks he’s better than everybody else. Trust me, it is in your best interests to see how Ms. Parton and her girlfriends protect themselves from that bully.

Then there’s the problem of her country music fans; I’m afraid you seriously underestimate their numbers and loyalty. Have you ever talked with big-rig truckers who count on Dolly’s sweet voice to get them through an overnight run? Have you ever met muscle-bound Harley men with Dolly tattoos? Have you ever known construction workers in Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, North Carolina or Louisiana who make the trek to Dollywood every summer? For that matter, have you ever talked to any of her Christian-music fans?

If you answered no to these questions, my second piece of advice is to go to a Cracker Barrel anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line, and ask the multitudes of diners how they feel about Dolly—and how they’d feel if somebody started trashing her in the national media.

Then STAND BACK. Better yet, discretely excuse yourself and leave the premises.

I know you’ve done a bang-up job of convincing Christian women that they have to be doormats and bigoted in order to please their husbands and God, respectively. But I’m afraid this approach is going to backfire if you keep using it on feisty Tennessee women…including but not limited to Ms. Dolly Parton.

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION

Dr. Teresa Whitehurst is a clinical psychologist, author of Jesus on Parenting: 10 Essential Principles That Will Transform Your Family (2004) and coauthor of The Nonviolent Christian Parent (2004). She writes the column, "Democracy, Faith and Values: Because You Shouldn’t Have to Choose Just One," as seen on her website.