In McLean, a crusade to get people to back off in the parenting arms race

It's a simple white oval with three big black letters: JMU. But to Wilma Bowers, who sports it proudly on her black Audi sedan, it's an act of subversion. In just about any other community, driving around with a bumper sticker for James Madison University, rated one of the best schools in the south, would be a point of pride. But this is McLean, one of the most affluent communities in the United States. Flaunting a JMU bumper sticker in a field of Harvards, Yales and Stanfords, Bowers says, is a...