--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Despite the fact that in America we…" description: "\"Despite the fact that in America we incarcerate more juveniles for life terms than in any other country in the world, the truth is that the vast majori..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97e/ayelet-waldman-3229_america_despite-the-fact-that-in-america-we-inca_363024.png" --- # Despite the fact that in America we incarcerate more… ![“Despite the fact that in America we incarcerate more juveniles for life terms than in any other country in the world, the truth is that the vast majority of youth offenders will one day be released. The question is simple and stark. Do we want to help them change or do we want to help them become…” quote by Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97e/ayelet-waldman-3229_america_despite-the-fact-that-in-america-we-inca_363024.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97e/ayelet-waldman-3229_america_despite-the-fact-that-in-america-we-inca_363024.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97e/ayelet-waldman-3229_america_despite-the-fact-that-in-america-we-inca_363024.png) > “Despite the fact that in America we incarcerate more juveniles for life terms than in any other country in the world, the truth is that the vast majority of youth offenders will one day be released. The question is simple and stark. Do we want to help them change or do we want to help them become even more violent and dangerous?” [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights the dilemma of whether society should rehabilitate youth offenders or allow them to become more dangerous. **In simple terms:** We must choose to help youth change or risk more violence. Key Takeaway Prioritize rehabilitation over punitive neglect. Themes justice rehabilitation youth crime policy violence Mood concerned hopeful Type policy advocacy When to use this quote - prison reform debates - community reentry programs - school counseling - family support services Key Concepts restorative justice recidivism prevention social reintegration Questions to Reflect On - What programs most effectively reduce recidivism among youth? - How can communities support reintegration? A Different Perspective Rehabilitation requires resources and societal willingness, which may be lacking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Incarcerate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-incarcerate-3329545/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Despite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despite/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Incarcerate Juveniles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incarcerate-juveniles-3329543/) [Juveniles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/juveniles-353322/) [Juveniles Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/juveniles-life-3329544/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Majority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majority/) [Offenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offenders/) [One day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-day/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Starks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starks/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Term life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term-life/) [Truth is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-is/) [Violent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violent/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) [Youth Offenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth-offenders-2449103/) ## Related quotes > [I work with youth offenders in LA, I've heard them speak and see how music manipulates them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-bonet/i-work-with-youth-offenders-in-la-i-ve-heard-them-speak-and-see-how/) [Lisa Bonet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-bonet/) > [Books should confuse. Literature abhors the typical. Literature flows to the particular, the mundane, the greasiness of paper, the taste of warm beer, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/books-should-confuse-literature-abhors-the-typical-literature-flows/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [Adults had the notion that juveniles needed to suffer. Only when they had suffered enough to wipe out most of their naturally joyous spirits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/adults-had-the-notion-that-juveniles-needed-to-suffer-only-when-they/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) > [There were no prototypes for me - the telly was full of little blonde juveniles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-rigg/there-were-no-prototypes-for-me-the-telly-was-full-of-little-blonde/) [Diana Rigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-rigg/) > [But there's a reason that we have different laws for juveniles than we do for adults. And it's because kids are not liable for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/but-there-s-a-reason-that-we-have-different-laws-for-juveniles-than/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [“When one writes a novel about grown people, he knows exactly where to stop - that is, with a marriage; but when he writes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/when-one-writes-a-novel-about-grown-people-he-knows-exactly-where-to/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The draconian spirit that seeks to enhance penalties and to lower the age at which juveniles will be tries as adults, is part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/the-draconian-spirit-that-seeks-to-enhance-penalties-and-to-lower-the/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [“It feels like she's having some very sophisticated sleepover with her spiritual sensei or guru. She has always avoided the term LIFE COACH, finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nickolas-butler/it-feels-like-she-s-having-some-very-sophisticated-sleepover-with-her/) [Nickolas Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nickolas-butler/) > [“Information is the currency of the Internet. As a medium, the Internet is brilliantly efficient at shifting information from the hands of those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/information-is-the-currency-of-the-internet-as-a-medium-the-internet/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [Too different from other juveniles on the market to warrant its selling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/too-different-from-other-juveniles-on-the-market-to-warrant-its/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [I have to share my story. Not for me, but for the people who might go through the same thing and for juveniles who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-banks/i-have-to-share-my-story-not-for-me-but-for-the-people-who-might-go/) [Brian Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-banks/) > [I think we ought to raise the age at which juveniles can have a gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-think-we-ought-to-raise-the-age-at-which-juveniles-can-have-a-gun/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [“Youths as children will see no wrong but feel it, as juveniles youths will see and feel wrongs and cope anyway they can, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillip-d-anna/youths-as-children-will-see-no-wrong-but-feel-it-as-juveniles-youths/) [Phillip D'Anna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillip-d-anna/) > [Why should there be a different set of laws for criminals who are juveniles? As far as I am concerned there should be no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suresh-gopi/why-should-there-be-a-different-set-of-laws-for-criminals-who-are/) [Suresh Gopi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suresh-gopi/) > [You reach a point where you say you're not going to do juveniles any longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-howard/you-reach-a-point-where-you-say-you-re-not-going-to-do-juveniles-any/) [Ron Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-howard/) ## More by Ayelet Waldman > [What I do with my kids is - and I think they probably do ignore us - is No Alcohol. If they're drunk they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/what-i-do-with-my-kids-is-and-i-think-they-probably-do-ignore-us-is/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [You know, I feel like my job is to write a book. Then filmmakers come and they make a movie. And they're two really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/you-know-i-feel-like-my-job-is-to-write-a-book-then-filmmakers-come/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [I went from resenting my mother-in-law to accepting her, finally to appreciating her. What appeared to be her diffidence when I was first married,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/i-went-from-resenting-my-mother-in-law-to-accepting-her-finally-to/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [Courage is impulsive; it is narcissism tempered with nihilism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/courage-is-impulsive-it-is-narcissism-tempered-with-nihilism/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [Most writers spend their lives standing a little apart from the crowd, watching and listening and hoping to catch that tiny hint of despair,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/most-writers-spend-their-lives-standing-a-little-apart-from-the-crowd/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [The thing about youthful offenders is that no one seems to care about them. Most people don't like adolescents - even the good ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/the-thing-about-youthful-offenders-is-that-no-one-seems-to-care-about/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [I was born in Israel, to Canadian parents. My father immigrated in 1948, part of a wave of young men and women who came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/i-was-born-in-israel-to-canadian-parents-my-father-immigrated-in-1948/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [Lots of medications work for a month, or a year, and then stop working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/lots-of-medications-work-for-a-month-or-a-year-and-then-stop-working/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [If you focus all of your emotional passion on your children and you neglect the relationship that brought that family into existence... eventually, things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/if-you-focus-all-of-your-emotional-passion-on-your-children-and-you/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [I think I wish I had never spanked my children, but I have. And they remember every instance like they tattooed it on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/i-think-i-wish-i-had-never-spanked-my-children-but-i-have-and-they/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [With prodigious bravery and eviscerating humor, Roxane Gay takes on culture and politics in Bad Feminist-and gets it right, time and time again. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/with-prodigious-bravery-and-eviscerating-humor-roxane-gay-takes-on/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [Because of my bipolar disorder, I tend to these mixed states, which are depressed but loud and agitated. So I can be terribly irritable.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/because-of-my-bipolar-disorder-i-tend-to-these-mixed-states-which-are/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [It's hard to separate your remembered childhood and its emotional legacy from the childhoods that are being lived out in your house, by your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/it-s-hard-to-separate-your-remembered-childhood-and-its-emotional/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [“Even if I’m setting myself up for failure, I think it’s worth trying to be a mother who delights in who her children are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/even-if-i-m-setting-myself-up-for-failure-i-think-it-s-worth-trying/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [I hate homework. I hate it more now than I did when I was the one lugging textbooks and binders back and forth from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/i-hate-homework-i-hate-it-more-now-than-i-did-when-i-was-the-one/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) [Explore all 136 Ayelet Waldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Despite the fact that in America we incarcerate more juveniles for life terms than in any other country in the world, the truth is that the vast majority of youth offenders will one day be released. The question is simple and stark. Do we want to help them change or do we want to help them become even more violent and dangerous?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ayelet Waldman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/despite-the-fact-that-in-america-we-incarcerate-more-juveniles-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/despite-the-fact-that-in-america-we-incarcerate-more-juveniles-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97e/ayelet-waldman-3229_america_despite-the-fact-that-in-america-we-inca_363024.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97e/ayelet-waldman-3229_america_despite-the-fact-that-in-america-we-inca_363024.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97e/ayelet-waldman-3229_america_despite-the-fact-that-in-america-we-inca_363024.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Despite the fact that in America we incarcerate more juveniles for life terms than in any other country in…” — Ayelet Waldman", "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": "Ayelet Waldman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Despite the fact that in America...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/despite-the-fact-that-in-america-we-incarcerate-more-juveniles-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/despite-the-fact-that-in-america-we-incarcerate-more-juveniles-for/#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 } } ] } ```