Dolly Parton Takes Jab At ‘Greedy Politicians’
Dolly Parton is one of the few celebrities in modern culture who is highly regarded by Americans across the ideological spectrum — in large part because she generally abstains from politically divisive debates.
She recently opined on the current state of politics, though, albeit without picking sides. Like other widely popular entertainers, she has been asked whether she would consider seeking elected office.
“No, I’m running from office,” she replied.
The country music icon went on to denounce “greedy politicians” of all stripes, asserting that they “wouldn’t know the truth if it bit them.”
Her remarks were couched in a conversation about how she stays away from talking politics, though she has felt the need recently to address her concerns about the environment.
“In the middle of the night, I wake up with this song in my mind, and I just felt the need to address what’s going on in the world today — my feelings and thoughts about it — because I’m not one for speaking out much on those sort of things,” she said in a recent interview.
When the interviewer noted that this seemed to be a departure from her tendency to keep her political beliefs “zipped,” Parton advised that she did not see the issue as a political one.
“Well, that’s not politics to me,” she said. “It’s not politics. I do make that statement, you know, don’t get me started on politics, how we live in a world like this, greedy politicians, present and past, wouldn’t know the truth if it bit them.”
She went on to offer her rationale for keeping many of her opinions to herself.
Explaining that she wants to use her “powerful voice, hopefully, in the right way,” Parton said that she simply wants to “accept and love everybody,” regardless of their personal values.
“I think we get so trapped in our beliefs, and our beliefs that we have to stay right with a certain thought,” she added. “Therefore, nothing ever changes. “So, I just try to live it, be an example, write about it in my own way, but I don’t think of myself as being political. That’s the worst thing that I could think about, being in politics.”
