--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They could have been removed. They could…" description: "\"They could have been removed. They could have been hidden. They could have been destroyed.\" — Tony Blair" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/tony-blair-812_could-have-been_they-could-have-been-removed-they-could_2006938.jpg" --- # They could have been removed. They could have been hidden… ![“They could have been removed. They could have been hidden. They could have been destroyed.” quote by Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/tony-blair-812_could-have-been_they-could-have-been-removed-they-could_2006938.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/tony-blair-812_could-have-been_they-could-have-been-removed-they-could_2006938.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/tony-blair-812_could-have-been_they-could-have-been-removed-they-could_2006938.jpg) > “They could have been removed. They could have been hidden. They could have been destroyed.” [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement suggests possible removal, concealment, or destruction of something. **In simple terms:** Things can be hidden or eliminated. Key Takeaway Consider the ethics of erasing history. Themes ethics memory politics truth Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - archival work - journalism - education - policy making Key Concepts Censorship Historical revisionism Power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What should be preserved versus removed? - Who decides what is destroyed? A Different Perspective Erasing may lead to loss of accountability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [Any relationship I ever have will have to be hidden, or else it will be destroyed before it even starts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/any-relationship-i-ever-have-will-have-to-be-hidden-or-else-it-will/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Can we be sure that terrorism and WMD will join together? If we are wrong, we will have destroyed a threat that, at its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/can-we-be-sure-that-terrorism-and-wmd-will-join-together-if-we-are/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [I'm so far removed from live playing any more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-hammer/i-m-so-far-removed-from-live-playing-any-more/) [Jan Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-hammer/) > [“I was, uh, curious as to the w-whereabouts of your, er…groom?” Lou removed the last”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-nelson/i-was-uh-curious-as-to-the-w-whereabouts-of-your-er-groom-lou-removed/) [Rhonda Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-nelson/) > [I've always looked for roles that were far removed from me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killian-scott/i-ve-always-looked-for-roles-that-were-far-removed-from-me/) [Killian Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killian-scott/) > [“This was part of the removed way that he and his team encountered the world, the very quality that Minyon had warned me about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-brazile/this-was-part-of-the-removed-way-that-he-and-his-team-encountered-the/) [Donna Brazile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-brazile/) > [Religion is not removed by removing superstition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/religion-is-not-removed-by-removing-superstition/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [I don't believe any pair of people had been more removed physically from the rest of the world than we were.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buzz-aldrin/i-don-t-believe-any-pair-of-people-had-been-more-removed-physically/) [Buzz Aldrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buzz-aldrin/) > [“Now, though, there was a second part, an artifact of his recent illness, as if his melancholy had, in a universe adjacent to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/now-though-there-was-a-second-part-an-artifact-of-his-recent-illness/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [ One of the great crimes of the Bloomberg/Klein administration \[in New York City\] is that they've removed themselves from communities, as if communities have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/one-of-the-great-crimes-of-the-bloomberg-klein-administration-in-new/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The sublime is only a step removed from the ridiculous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/the-sublime-is-only-a-step-removed-from-the-ridiculous/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [“Daily chronic fatigue can be an indication that something is wrong in your environment that needs to be identified and removed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/daily-chronic-fatigue-can-be-an-indication-that-something-is-wrong-in/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“Every few minutes or so I would remember the look from the man who had wanted fifty cents, and I'd look at that framed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/every-few-minutes-or-so-i-would-remember-the-look-from-the-man-who/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [We got latched together and I was hoping you could separate us? (Amanda) They were made by your stepfather. Any chance you have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/we-got-latched-together-and-i-was-hoping-you-could-separate-us-amanda/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“When we removed your son, we replaced him with nothing!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-malema/when-we-removed-your-son-we-replaced-him-with-nothing/) [Julius Malema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-malema/) ## More by Tony Blair > [I happen to think it's the politics that makes you electable, but the reason for that is politicians sometimes talk about electability as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-happen-to-think-it-s-the-politics-that-makes-you-electable-but-the/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [I have absolutely no doubt at all that we will find evidence of weapons of mass destruction programmes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-have-absolutely-no-doubt-at-all-that-we-will-find-evidence-of/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [I mean, you can agree or disagree with Iraq or Afghanistan, but by the way, now the great campaigning cause out there is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-mean-you-can-agree-or-disagree-with-iraq-or-afghanistan-but-by-the/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [My dad was a militant atheist, or is a militant atheist. My mum was sort of bought up in a religious family because she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/my-dad-was-a-militant-atheist-or-is-a-militant-atheist-my-mum-was/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Politics may be the art of the possible, but at least in life, give the impossible a go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/politics-may-be-the-art-of-the-possible-but-at-least-in-life-give-the/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [I also, as I think most people do, have a healthy instinct that if we upset the balance of nature, we are in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-also-as-i-think-most-people-do-have-a-healthy-instinct-that-if-we/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [It is not a sensible or intelligent response for us in Europe to ridicule American arguments and parody their political leadership.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/it-is-not-a-sensible-or-intelligent-response-for-us-in-europe-to/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [I am absolutely delighted to give my full support to Gordon as the next leader of the Labour Party and as prime minister and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-am-absolutely-delighted-to-give-my-full-support-to-gordon-as-the/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Society works by putting opportunity and responsibility together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/society-works-by-putting-opportunity-and-responsibility-together/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [The great advantage of the Lib Dems is precisely that no-one knows what they stand for](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/the-great-advantage-of-the-lib-dems-is-precisely-that-no-one-knows/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [People know where I stand in the Labour party and what I believe in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/people-know-where-i-stand-in-the-labour-party-and-what-i-believe-in/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [The only society that works today is also one founded on mutual respect, on a recognition that we have a responsibility collectively and individually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/the-only-society-that-works-today-is-also-one-founded-on-mutual/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [How do we deal with not just the acts of violence, but the extremist ideology that lies behind them? Because though the numbers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/how-do-we-deal-with-not-just-the-acts-of-violence-but-the-extremist/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [The public think the politicians don't know or care about their lives; and the politicians feel misunderstood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/the-public-think-the-politicians-don-t-know-or-care-about-their-lives/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [I think it's important for people like me to evaluate and reevaluate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-think-it-s-important-for-people-like-me-to-evaluate-and-reevaluate/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) [Explore all 363 Tony Blair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) ## More Could have been quotes > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [I'm happy with my career but I could have been happier if I could have been treated like a champion should have been treated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-holmes/i-m-happy-with-my-career-but-i-could-have-been-happier-if-i-could/) [Larry Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-holmes/) > [Funerals and weddings were commonplace, and nothing could have been so interesting to them as the coming of the end of the world ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-eggleston/funerals-and-weddings-were-commonplace-and-nothing-could-have-been-so/) [Edward Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-eggleston/) > [Had I been brighter, the ladies been gentler, the Scotch been weaker, had the gods been kinder, had the dice been hotter, this could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-rooney/had-i-been-brighter-the-ladies-been-gentler-the-scotch-been-weaker/) [Mickey Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-rooney/) > [From '86 until the summer of last year, wherever I went, people would say, You would have made a great James Bond! Weren't you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/from-86-until-the-summer-of-last-year-wherever-i-went-people-would/) [Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/) > [There's always male roles I want to play. I'm so annoyed when I watch movies and go, "That could have been played by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lawrence/there-s-always-male-roles-i-want-to-play-i-m-so-annoyed-when-i-watch/) [Jennifer Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lawrence/) > [It has been suggested that Tiptree is female, a theory that I find absurd, for there is to me something ineluctably masculine about Tiptree’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/it-has-been-suggested-that-tiptree-is-female-a-theory-that-i-find/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [Thousands of years of ideological, philosophical and practical decisions were made. They altered the surface of the earth, the coordinates of our souls. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/thousands-of-years-of-ideological-philosophical-and-practical/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [You obviously don't know what an Old Man of the Sea great wealth is. It is not a fat purse and time to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/you-obviously-don-t-know-what-an-old-man-of-the-sea-great-wealth-is/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [At the beginning of my TV and movie stuff, I would be really critical of myself, but I've gotten better and better. There's always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mireille-enos/at-the-beginning-of-my-tv-and-movie-stuff-i-would-be-really-critical/) [Mireille Enos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mireille-enos/) > [The Providence that watches over the affairs of men works out of their mistakes, at times, a healthier issue than could have been accomplished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/the-providence-that-watches-over-the-affairs-of-men-works-out-of/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-suppose-that-the-eye-could-have-been-formed-by-natural-selection/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Sometimes you have to look into a mirror and look at the worst you could have been if you're ever going to know the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-plummer/sometimes-you-have-to-look-into-a-mirror-and-look-at-the-worst-you/) [Christopher Plummer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-plummer/) > [When the landscape buckles and jerks around, when a dust column of debris rises from the collapse of a block of buildings on bodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/when-the-landscape-buckles-and-jerks-around-when-a-dust-column-of/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Watercolour could have been used more by the modernists. It is so direct, and when the white paper convention is accepted, so powerful, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milne/watercolour-could-have-been-used-more-by-the-modernists-it-is-so/) [David Milne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milne/) Browse all 271 Could have been quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They could have been removed. They could have been hidden. 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