What happened to neighborhoods?

DALLAS - Frank Larison is a disabled veteran with more than 14 years of service, including more than a year of combat duty in Vietnam.
The 58-year-old former Marine now finds himself under attack by his Dallas homeowners association for displaying seven decals on his vehicle supporting the Marine Corps.
"To me, it's being patriotic, and it shows that I served," the veteran told FOX 4.
The board says the decals are advertisements that violate HOA rules, and must be covered or removed.
Otherwise, the homeowners association for The Woodlands II on The Creek --- where Larimore has lived for eight years --- says in a letter it will tow the car at Larimore's expense. The board also threatens to fine him $50 for any future incident.
Larimore says the decals, ranging from the Marine emblem to Semper Fi slogans, aren't advertisements for anything. "You can't buy freedom," he reasoned.
Some neighbors are outraged.
"That is his identity," said neighbor Mary Castagna. "He goes to a lot of the veteran meetings, and it means a lot to him. Everyone else agrees with it; it doesn't bother anybody."
"He's in the Marines, and he's proud of it, and I don't blame him," said neighbor Paul Hardy. "If I'd gone through what he's gone through, I'd be kind of proud of it myself."
The letter from the board states you can't have any form of advertisement anywhere on your car on your property. FOX 4 cameras spotted bumper stickers for political parties, health causes, and other non-commercial interests on the property as well.
One board member said he was unaware the HOA presidents sent the letter and did not know of any issue with Larimore's vehicle.
"I will be looking into it," said board member Art Bradford. "I didn't know anything about this. I haven't seen this."
The board president was out of town and unavailable. The condo management company did not want to comment.

This goes to the heart of what I continually say about personal responsibility. Homeowners associations are just another gradual step towards socialism. Where I grew up people took care of their own property. Neighbors pitched in (voluntarily) to take care of the things that fell outside of their property boundaries. I can remember my dad and his buddies clearing the sewers so the streets wouldn't flood. Snowblowing the alleys and the streets to make them passable. Nobody told them to do it, it was called being neighborly. If you had a problem with something your neighbor was doing you talked to them about it. With these HOA's neighbors no longer communicate except through memo's and official letters, all the while resenting each other for the imposition. This is exactly what the liberal socialists want. The less we communicate the more we are divided. The easier it is for them to gather in small groups and push their agendas. Take this case for example this probably originated with one maybe two complaining neighbors but look at how much they were able to accomplish quietly. We don't need HOA's we need neighborhoods.