Nerve Endings Firing Away

Is this picture offensive? You would probably say no. But a homeowners association in Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes the Christmas wreath. The wreath signifies a peace sign that was in vogue during the 70s activists movement but have come to represent a general imagery of peace removed from its anti-war association. Some residents claim that this wreath is anti-Iraq war and say that it offends them as they have children serving in Iraq. You might say, but this is America and you have freedom of speech, right?

But let me remind you, dear friend that you are dealing with a often underestimated monster called the Homeowners Association which can at times be akin to a Communist regime regarding things you choose to display on your property. You may think that a home is your castle and in a country that fiercely protects its property rights, anything you do on your land cannot be subject to scrutiny. whenever you buy a plot of land especially in a suburban sub-division, you sign off on several inches thick book of do’s and don’ts. Right from the height of the blade of the grass on your lawn to the color of your home, everything is regulated and specified in this handbook of laws. No wonder, all homes in a subdivision end up looking the same and lend America’s suburbs its look of mundaneness. In a country that fosters innovation and creativity, the majority of its housing unfortunately comes from a cookie cutter mold that developers keep handy. Regulation of signs on your property have always been debated in courts [see City of Ladue v. Gilleo, Linmark Associates, Inc. v. Willingboro] and more often than not, it has been found that irrational prejudice is at the root of such censorship attempts.

As with any organization, the homeowners association soon assumes selective segregation and a closed network of closed minds dictate the look and appeal of your home. Even the slightest hint of difference or a touch of personal opinion like the wreath above is stuck down with a vengeance that would remind you of authoritarian regimes. If such behavior was done by the federal government, US would be a communist country surpassing even its erstwhile feared rival, USSR.

In today’s times when Bush and co.’s rhetoric of protesting against the war being deemed unpatriotic is succeeding, such ‘normal’ acts of pacifism are now being threatened with censorship. When did peace become a dirty word? Those who think that a little restraint or a little censorship is always good should look at this case as a fine example of how things end up when a little bit is allowed at first.

Let us hope that Lisa Jensen has a peaceful Christmas, far better than her paranoid and stupid neighbors.

Update: The threat for a fine has been withdrawn following objections from all around the nation including offers of help to pay the fine if the Homeowners Association persisted. I say, it has been withdrawn due to media attention and the underlying attitude still persists.