Judy Major had to be persuaded to run for county commissioner in Madison County, North Carolina. She is 75. If she is successful, she will be 76 when she assumes the role, 81 when her term ends. “That’s pretty old,” she says.
Madison County is rural and predominantly conservative. If North Carolina is part of the Bible Belt, Madison County is, as was described to me, the “buckle of the Bible Belt.” Many signs indicate how true this is. Literally, billboards. Driving along the interstate I pass a billboard which expounds, in all caps, HEAVEN OR HELL, and in even bigger caps, YOU CHOOSE. Another on a local highway: IN THE BEGINNING, GOD CREATED,” with the standard symbol for evolution, the image of the ape developing into man, crossed out with a large red X.
Evolution is in question here. …
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