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Hopeful for the Future of America: Balil Chaudry, Maryland

As told by Balil Chaudry
Salisbury, Maryland

Story Narrative:

Balil has dark hair, a beard, and eyeglasses. He wears a blue, paid shirt in a library setting.

This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Maryland Voices initiative at Maryland Humanities, specifically to supplement the "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program. This collection, made up of stories of first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 24, showcases the experiences of young people as they wrestled with the 2020 presidential election, issues around social justice, the environment, immigration, and the pandemic. 

Balil Chaudry  (00:00): My name is Balil Chaudry. I'm a senior at Salisbury. I grew up in Brooklyn and Salisbury, Maryland. I was in Brooklyn until I was 10 years old and then I moved down here for the rest of my life basically, and then I stayed here for college as well. It's an interesting mix because I got to live in both the city, more rush of a vibe, and also Salisbury, which is a really small town. I got to see the disparity in both aspects of America.

Balil Chaudry (00:33): That's a little bit of a loaded question. I want to be helpful honestly. I've seen a lot more people that are of a younger age being involved in politics so it does make me hopeful. But at the same time, I'm kind of discouraged just because you see the same people who have been in Congress constantly getting reelected even though they're not really doing much for the overall American community.

Balil Chaudry (00:57): For one, I'm not sure if I'm allowed to single out people on this, but Mitch McConnell's been the senator from Kentucky for God knows how long. I don't know how he's still getting reelected. But I want there to be more younger representation. I want there to be more knowledge.

Balil Chaudry (01:14): One downside with the progression of technology and all the social media platforms is everybody wants that quick information. A lot of people are just scrolling constantly on their phones and you don't really see as many people actually reading or getting educated. It's a mix. There's more people getting educated right now, willing to talk. Well, there's more people willing to talk now, but less people I've seen actually reading and stuff about politics or overall. But at the same time, they're also more accepting.

Balil Chaudry (01:44): The younger generation, I want to be hopeful. That I could just be the optimist in me. There's a lot of things that need to get done and I feel like the younger generation is more vocal on them, for example, climate change. But it's kind of hard to be like dead set on being a hopeful just because you see the system is kind of rigged against getting more younger representation in there. It's great to be optimistic, but you also has to be more of a realist to know exactly where to take change from.


Asset ID: 2021.03.06.f
Themes: Future, hope, frustration, youth, senate, politicians, youth, leaders, education, technology, politics, Gen Z
Date recorded: February 1, 2021
Length of recording: 02:20 m
Related traveling exhibition: Voices and Votes: Democracy in America
Sponsor or affiliated organization: Edward H. Nabb Research Center, Salisbury University, in partnership with Maryland Humanities
More informationhttps://www.mdhumanities.org/programs/museum-on-main-street/2021-2022-tour/

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