Aesthetic: an artistic expression, a carefully treasured and guarded aura. We all have one.

An Arizona retirement community is so committed to its “look” that it’s battling one of its residents, 5-foot-nothing, 82-year-old Donna Cordero. The widow of two veterans, Cordero had a small American flag painted on her curb alongside her house number. During one of its routine patrols “to observe the aesthetic appearance of the properties and to ensure they are maintaining ‘the look,’” her homeowners association spotted the flag and told her she’d need to paint over it.

“Decorative additions” don’t fit the aesthetic, the HOA told her.

"I couldn't believe it," Cordero told USA Today. “I’m thinking, ‘Are you joking?’ Of all the things they pay attention to in this community, they’re looking at my little flag? It absolutely upset me. My neighbors that I’ve talked to can’t believe it either.”

The HOA insists their policy has nothing to do with a lack of patriotism. Rather, it’s about enforcing the “decorative additions” rule they’ve had in place for years. Cordero knows better, they argued. It’s right there in the conditions and restrictions.

“We have many residents who fly the flag properly and proudly and the HOA itself has been recognized for our appropriate displaying of the American flag, said Tom Canepa, the HOA’s vice president. “It has nothing to do with the flag. It has to do with fact that the standard is very clear in saying no decorative additions on the curb.”

Canepa has a point: People move into HOAs because they want the cookie-cutter neighborhood that takes care of itself. You know what you sign up for when you buy into the neighborhood. But is the preservation of a “look” worth this kind of public spectacle? If Cordero has her way, this spat isn't going away any time soon: “You’ve got to stand for something or you will fall for nothing and I’m not going to fall for nothing. This is my property and I just can’t believe anybody would find that flag offensive," she said.

As it stands, the national attention might just be worse for the HOA’s aesthetic than Cordero’s American flag.

—By Kaylee McGhee