Homeowners Associations

What's the point of a homeowners association? i thought we lived in a FREE COUNTRY......yes I agree that houses should look presentable and people shouldn't put up burglar bars on the windows and have people park on the lawn, but this is a FREE COUNTRY, not a communist country....while there should be rules, they shouldn't be enforced like some dictatorship. where i live in connecticut there is a watchdog group that goes around to see which houses are following the rules and who isnt......are you kidding me? sounds like communism to me, how is that legal? have somebody go around once a month or something to inspect the area, but a watchdog group that rats people out? come on, that's just freakin communism right there.