--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can padlock a building, but you can't…" description: "\"You can padlock a building, but you can't padlock an idea.\" — Myles Horton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/myles-horton-28524_building_you-can-padlock-a-building-but-you-can-t_2790889.jpg" --- # You can padlock a building, but you can't padlock an idea. ![“You can padlock a building, but you can't padlock an idea.” quote by Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/myles-horton-28524_building_you-can-padlock-a-building-but-you-can-t_2790889.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/myles-horton-28524_building_you-can-padlock-a-building-but-you-can-t_2790889.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/myles-horton-28524_building_you-can-padlock-a-building-but-you-can-t_2790889.jpg) > “You can padlock a building, but you can't padlock an idea.” [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Physical security can protect structures, but ideas remain free and unstoppable. **In simple terms:** Ideas cannot be locked down like buildings. Key Takeaway Protect and nurture ideas despite external constraints. Themes freedom ideas resistance Mood inspirational defiant Type political philosophical When to use this quote - activism - education reform - creative collaboration - policy advocacy Key Concepts political theory social movements intellectual property Questions to Reflect On - How do you safeguard your ideas? - What strategies protect ideas from being co-opted? A Different Perspective Ideas can be suppressed through censorship or propaganda. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Padlocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/padlocks/) ## Related quotes > [Place a padlock on your throat and hide the key.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/place-a-padlock-on-your-throat-and-hide-the-key/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Faith is a padlock of the mind, and few keys can open it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/faith-is-a-padlock-of-the-mind-and-few-keys-can-open-it/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [Wedlock is a padlock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ray/wedlock-is-a-padlock/) [John Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ray/) > [Whate'er the talents, or howe'er designed, We hang one jingling padlock on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/whate-er-the-talents-or-howe-er-designed-we-hang-one-jingling-padlock/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [The say education is the key, but we see no padlock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dabby-felix/the-say-education-is-the-key-but-we-see-no-padlock/) Dabby Felix > [Maternity bras are the Alcatraz under-wear. If they were a door they'd have a mortise lock, a padlock and the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-giedroyc/maternity-bras-are-the-alcatraz-under-wear-if-they-were-a-door-they-d/) [Mel Giedroyc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-giedroyc/) > [“Life can be like a padlock refusing to open. One little change in the combination can finally open the door.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-peterson/life-can-be-like-a-padlock-refusing-to-open-one-little-change-in-the/) Alice Peterson > [“You cannot open the padlock if you does not have the key.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adel-sakura/you-cannot-open-the-padlock-if-you-does-not-have-the-key/) [Adel Sakura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adel-sakura/) > [Life is like a padlock, always finding the right key to unlock it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-like-a-padlock-always-finding-the-right-key-to-unlock-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sometimes the key to unlocking the future is your ability to just leave the padlock of the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faithful-akpaloo/sometimes-the-key-to-unlocking-the-future-is-your-ability-to-just/) [Faithful Akpaloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faithful-akpaloo/) > [Yale men do not like to be told anything by people who didn't go to Yale. The closest I came to Yale was once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/yale-men-do-not-like-to-be-told-anything-by-people-who-didn-t-go-to/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [Mickey is a secret journal chained closed with a padlock, slammed inside a vault and dropped into the middle of the Pacific Ocean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-fisher/mickey-is-a-secret-journal-chained-closed-with-a-padlock-slammed/) [Noel Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-fisher/) > [The padlock clicked open. A voice soundingoddly like South Parks's Cartman echoed through my quivering brain. Goddammit!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rardin/the-padlock-clicked-open-a-voice-soundingoddly-like-south-parks-s/) [Jennifer Rardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rardin/) > [This naming of things is so crucial to possession - a spiritual padlock with the key thrown irretrievably away - that it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/this-naming-of-things-is-so-crucial-to-possession-a-spiritual-padlock/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [One has said that Christ excelled all other moralists in this, that He puts the padlock not upon the hand, but upon the heart.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thomson/one-has-said-that-christ-excelled-all-other-moralists-in-this-that-he/) [Edward Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thomson/) ## More by Myles Horton > [I think if I had to put a finger on what I consider a good education, a good radical education, it wouldn't be anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/i-think-if-i-had-to-put-a-finger-on-what-i-consider-a-good-education/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [Any decent society has to be built on trust and love and the intelligent use of information and feelings. Education involves being able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/any-decent-society-has-to-be-built-on-trust-and-love-and-the/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [“Now I've been criticized for advocating that people push their boundaries because sometimes people get caught. Sometimes people get fired. Sometimes people lose their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/now-i-ve-been-criticized-for-advocating-that-people-push-their/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [“Now I have very little respect for the electoral system in the United States. I could have respected it in the early days, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/now-i-have-very-little-respect-for-the-electoral-system-in-the-united/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [I feel that all knowledge should be in the free-trade zone. Your knowledge, my knowledge, everybody's knowledge should be made use of. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/i-feel-that-all-knowledge-should-be-in-the-free-trade-zone-your/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [I’m much better at working out ideas in action than I am in theorizing about it and then transferring my thinking to action. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/i-m-much-better-at-working-out-ideas-in-action-than-i-am-in/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [“There's no science that can't be used for good or for evil. Science could be used by whoever has the power to use it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/there-s-no-science-that-can-t-be-used-for-good-or-for-evil-science/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [Instead of thinking that you put pieces together that will add up to a whole, I think you have to start with the premise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/instead-of-thinking-that-you-put-pieces-together-that-will-add-up-to/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [If you only try to do the things where you win, then you'll never try to do anything worth doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/if-you-only-try-to-do-the-things-where-you-win-then-you-ll-never-try/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [“I don't know what to do, and if I did know what to do I wouldn't tell you, because if I had to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/i-don-t-know-what-to-do-and-if-i-did-know-what-to-do-i-wouldn-t-tell/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [I also knew that if people have a position on something and you try to argue them into changing it, you’re going to strengthen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/i-also-knew-that-if-people-have-a-position-on-something-and-you-try/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [When people criticize me for not having any respect for existing structures and institutions, I protest. I say I give institutions and structures and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/when-people-criticize-me-for-not-having-any-respect-for-existing/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [“No one is charismatic. Someone becomes charismatic in history, socially. The question for me is once again the problem of humility. If the leader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/no-one-is-charismatic-someone-becomes-charismatic-in-history-socially/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [“The critic said, but don't you feel awkward about biting the hand that feeds you? I said no, I enjoy just gnawing it up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/the-critic-said-but-don-t-you-feel-awkward-about-biting-the-hand-that/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [You can't be a revolutionary, you can't want to change society if you don't love people, there's no point in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/you-can-t-be-a-revolutionary-you-can-t-want-to-change-society-if-you/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) [Explore all 19 Myles Horton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) ## More Building quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [Absolutely, you can improve and become better at toughness. It's a talent, but it can be acquired, too. I think of it like building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harbaugh/absolutely-you-can-improve-and-become-better-at-toughness-it-s-a/) [Jim Harbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harbaugh/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'd like to play Ian Paisley, actually. I'd need building up, though he's very frail now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/i-d-like-to-play-ian-paisley-actually-i-d-need-building-up-though-he/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [As for the forces, electromagnetism and gravity we experience in everyday life. But the weak and strong forces are beyond our ordinary experience. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-for-the-forces-electromagnetism-and-gravity-we-experience-in/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [I'm 30. I'm about to hit my prime now. I need to act and keep building.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillian-whyte/i-m-30-i-m-about-to-hit-my-prime-now-i-need-to-act-and-keep-building/) [Dillian Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillian-whyte/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [Practically every time I speak up at a school conference, a political event, or my apartment building association's annual meeting, I'm met with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/practically-every-time-i-speak-up-at-a-school-conference-a-political/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) Browse all 5,974 Building quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can padlock a building, but you can't padlock an idea.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Myles Horton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/you-can-padlock-a-building-but-you-can-t-padlock-an-idea/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Building" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/you-can-padlock-a-building-but-you-can-t-padlock-an-idea/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/myles-horton-28524_building_you-can-padlock-a-building-but-you-can-t_2790889.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/myles-horton-28524_building_you-can-padlock-a-building-but-you-can-t_2790889.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/myles-horton-28524_building_you-can-padlock-a-building-but-you-can-t_2790889.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can padlock a building, but you can't padlock an idea.” — Myles Horton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Myles Horton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can padlock a building, but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/you-can-padlock-a-building-but-you-can-t-padlock-an-idea/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/you-can-padlock-a-building-but-you-can-t-padlock-an-idea/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```