--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our roots are clinging, we shouldn't…" description: "\"Our roots are clinging, we shouldn't knock down so many old 'buildings.'\" — Whit Stillman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/whit-stillman-16157_building_our-roots-are-clinging-we-shouldn-t-knoc_1947403.jpg" --- # Our roots are clinging, we shouldn't knock down so many… ![“Our roots are clinging, we shouldn't knock down so many old 'buildings.'” quote by Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/whit-stillman-16157_building_our-roots-are-clinging-we-shouldn-t-knoc_1947403.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/whit-stillman-16157_building_our-roots-are-clinging-we-shouldn-t-knoc_1947403.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/whit-stillman-16157_building_our-roots-are-clinging-we-shouldn-t-knoc_1947403.jpg) > “Our roots are clinging, we shouldn't knock down so many old 'buildings.'” [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People cling to old traditions and resist change, fearing loss of familiar structures. **In simple terms:** We cling to old structures, resisting change. Key Takeaway Balance tradition with progress. Themes tradition change nostalgia Mood nostalgic contemplative Type cultural philosophical When to use this quote - urban development - family dynamics - career transitions - community planning Key Concepts sociology cultural studies Questions to Reflect On - What old 'buildings' are you reluctant to let go? - How can you honor tradition while innovating? A Different Perspective Holding onto the past can hinder growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buildings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buildings/) [Old buildings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-buildings/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) ## Related quotes > [“I feel like a tree exposed to the elements, my roots clinging to the soil, my branches flirting with heaven.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leylah-attar/i-feel-like-a-tree-exposed-to-the-elements-my-roots-clinging-to-the/) [Leylah Attar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leylah-attar/) > [In Paris, there has to be a presence. History becomes the most interesting when it's compared to the present. I mean there's a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/in-paris-there-has-to-be-a-presence-history-becomes-the-most/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [You can raze the old buildings and erect magnificent corporate towers, hose down Port Authority, but you can't change people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/you-can-raze-the-old-buildings-and-erect-magnificent-corporate-towers/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [ You see all these old buildings \[in Rio\] going down or catching fire overnight, and it is so sad. I am very connected with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-braga/you-see-all-these-old-buildings-in-rio-going-down-or-catching-fire/) [Sonia Braga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-braga/) > [Recycling old buildings to show art is very important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-gund/recycling-old-buildings-to-show-art-is-very-important/) [Agnes Gund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-gund/) > [New ideas must use old buildings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/new-ideas-must-use-old-buildings/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [I always lived in old buildings, and I thought about who lived here before. You'd have to be oblivious not to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-katchor/i-always-lived-in-old-buildings-and-i-thought-about-who-lived-here/) [Ben Katchor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-katchor/) > [In Japan, there is less a culture of preserving old buildings than in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadao-ando/in-japan-there-is-less-a-culture-of-preserving-old-buildings-than-in/) [Tadao Ando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tadao-ando/) > [In the '60s when I was a student, there was this campaign to destroy 75 percent of the old buildings in Paris, replacing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-de-portzamparc/in-the-60s-when-i-was-a-student-there-was-this-campaign-to-destroy-75/) [Christian de Portzamparc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-de-portzamparc/) > [Our beautiful old buildings tell us so much about who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clarke/our-beautiful-old-buildings-tell-us-so-much-about-who-we-are/) [George Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clarke/) > [I wanted to preserve the old buildings, not to destroy them and build something new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/i-wanted-to-preserve-the-old-buildings-not-to-destroy-them-and-build/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [New ideas often need old buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/new-ideas-often-need-old-buildings/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [In New York City, when they develop something, they never use the old buildings. It's so wasteful. Why not use what's there?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-mckay/in-new-york-city-when-they-develop-something-they-never-use-the-old/) [Nellie McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-mckay/) > [I'm for people clinging. I'm pro-clinging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-m-for-people-clinging-i-m-pro-clinging/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [Cities need old buildings so badly it is probably impossible for vigorous streets and districts to grow without them… for really new ideas of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/cities-need-old-buildings-so-badly-it-is-probably-impossible-for/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) ## More by Whit Stillman > [I think it's really good and helpful to have the people you most admire in some other discipline than what you work in. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-think-it-s-really-good-and-helpful-to-have-the-people-you-most/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [For me, the present is a golden era. That's the greatest golden era. Right now. I just like pining for lost times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/for-me-the-present-is-a-golden-era-that-s-the-greatest-golden-era/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [I decided the moment I graduated from college that I would never wear blue jeans again. And I have never worn blue jeans again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-decided-the-moment-i-graduated-from-college-that-i-would-never-wear/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [I think Austin is read more now than Charles Dickens, and Dickens was much more popular in his day. She endures because of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-think-austin-is-read-more-now-than-charles-dickens-and-dickens-was/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [I find it really disturbing to be watching a lot of the medium that I'm trying to work in. I prefer to be doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-find-it-really-disturbing-to-be-watching-a-lot-of-the-medium-that-i/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [ I think a lot of \["Cosmopolitans"\] is marked by \[Jerome David\] Salinger. Salinger wouldn't allow his works to be adapted for film after his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-think-a-lot-of-cosmopolitans-is-marked-by-jerome-david-salinger/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [I explained to Amazon that I don't like outlining or projecting what something's going to be. I like to allow a story to arise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-explained-to-amazon-that-i-don-t-like-outlining-or-projecting-what/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [I would say on the other side of the equation that there were really some massive sales and massive enthusiasm for some films that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-would-say-on-the-other-side-of-the-equation-that-there-were-really/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [It becomes a lot better for the actors when we're 'shooting, shooting, shooting,' instead of waiting around in a trailer for something to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/it-becomes-a-lot-better-for-the-actors-when-we-re-shooting-shooting/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [Find someone hypersocial and crazy and try not to follow them to their doom, but to make friends with their nicer friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/find-someone-hypersocial-and-crazy-and-try-not-to-follow-them-to/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [It's terrible to write what are essentially comedies for people with no sense of humor. Everyone thinks they have a sense of humor, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/it-s-terrible-to-write-what-are-essentially-comedies-for-people-with/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [I've had no money, absolutely, from my family. They paid for a good education - or schools that purported to be a good education…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-ve-had-no-money-absolutely-from-my-family-they-paid-for-a-good/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [For me, there's a bad year of getting started on something. You write bad stuff and it's awkward to throw it out, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/for-me-there-s-a-bad-year-of-getting-started-on-something-you-write/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [There's some people who are just very dynamic about social life, and it can be some pretty crazy stuff, but you end up meeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/there-s-some-people-who-are-just-very-dynamic-about-social-life-and/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [“Charlie Black: Fourierism was tried in the late nineteenth century… and it failed. Wasn’t Brook Farm Fourierist? It failed. Tom Townsend: That’s debatable. Charlie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/charlie-black-fourierism-was-tried-in-the-late-nineteenth-century-and/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) [Explore all 40 Whit Stillman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) ## 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": "Our roots are clinging, we shouldn't knock down so many old 'buildings.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Whit Stillman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/our-roots-are-clinging-we-shouldn-t-knock-down-so-many-old-buildings/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Building" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/our-roots-are-clinging-we-shouldn-t-knock-down-so-many-old-buildings/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/whit-stillman-16157_building_our-roots-are-clinging-we-shouldn-t-knoc_1947403.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/whit-stillman-16157_building_our-roots-are-clinging-we-shouldn-t-knoc_1947403.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/whit-stillman-16157_building_our-roots-are-clinging-we-shouldn-t-knoc_1947403.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our roots are clinging, we shouldn't knock down so many old 'buildings.'” — Whit Stillman", "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": "Whit Stillman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our roots are clinging, we shouldn't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/our-roots-are-clinging-we-shouldn-t-knock-down-so-many-old-buildings/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/our-roots-are-clinging-we-shouldn-t-knock-down-so-many-old-buildings/#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 } } ] } ```