Let me tell you a secret.

This is a secret a lot of people don’t like to hear. Some might even call it “politically incorrect.”

You ready?

Buckle up, Dorothy, because Kansas is going bye-bye.

Given a choice, the vast majority of people prefer to live in a dictatorship, as long as the dictator has the same tastes they do.

Homeowners associations become petty dictatorships because that’s what people want.

They like the idea that the HOA controls what color they paint their house, as long as the HOA tells people to use colors they already like.

They like the idea that the HOA controls what people do with their property, as long as the HOA says they have to do things they were already going to do anyway.

People blather on and on about “freedom,” but the ugly truth is “freedom” means people doing things you personally don’t want to do. It means people painting their houses colors you personally don’t like. It means people landscaping in ways you personally find ugly.

As long as the dictator shares their tastes, most people joyfully embrace the dictator.