Karen Gedney and Eric Lerude are Northern Nevada residents who participated in the One Small Step conversation program. In partnership with StoryCorps, KUNR connects people with different political values through dialogue.
They started their conversation by finding common ground about their careers. Then, they discussed their evolving political party affiliations and how their families have shaped their values.
Eric Lerude: Karen, I'm curious how long you've been a doctor and then at what point did you become a doctor in a prison?
Karen Gedney: Well, my medical school started in 1984 in Cincinnati. My internal medicine was at UNR (University of Nevada, Reno). I was ultimately the chief resident for [Washoe Medical Center] back in the day, which is now Renown.
The reason I ended up in prison, the federal government paid for my medical school. In return, I had to work four years in a place where no other doctor would work.
I survived those four years and then I decided to turn it into my calling, because I always wanted to help the underserved. It just never occurred to me, they would be in prison.
Eric: Gotcha. So then you've spent your entire medical career in a prison facility.
Karen: Yes, I did 30 years in prison.
Eric: Wow. I’m a former lawyer, recovering lawyer. So I did my share of habeas corpus work. So I've been in those prisons.
Karen: So you know them.
Eric: I didn’t stay the whole day, but you were there for the whole day. I was there just for a couple hours.
Karen: Right. Eric, could you briefly describe, in your own words, your personal political values?
Eric: I picked the Republican party because I fall back to the, fiscally conservative but liberal when it comes to personal rights and freedoms, things like that. I consider myself really just a moderate.
Didn't really get engaged in politics until then, Trump came along and now this very extremism on the right side. That then led me to drop out of the Republican party and I just defaulted to the Democrat Party.
I wanted to be able to vote in primaries and in Nevada it’s a closed primary system, so I signed up for the Democrat Party.
Karen: The only time I started getting a little bit politically involved was when my husband, who was a Republican, he said to me, he goes: “Okay, Karen. What are you?” I said, “Well, I'm a nothing.” Like an independent.
He said, “No you have to register Republican or Democrat if you want to be in a caucus.” So he said, “I'll be Republican, you be Democrat.” I would vote, but it had really nothing to do with party lines.
Eric: I've got two boys. My youngest son has gotten very involved. He looked at my wife and I and said, prior to the 2020 election: “What are you gonna do to get involved with this election?”
And my wife and I said, “Good question. We're gonna get more involved.”
So we were so concerned about what was going on, seeing that Trump was coming along again, that we started our own political engagement, active group here in Reno.
Looking ahead to getting ready for the presidential election 2024, but also concerned with the extremism at the county level. Suddenly, I’ve become very active and engaged in really, the fight against the extremism.
Karen: Yeah, and I'll say that the extremism, for me, was when they started making abortions illegal. As a physician, I know medically that certain women need that.
Eric: I agree. I agree with those sentiments very much. I'm hopeful that our country can come together and we'll have a peaceful United States and a peaceful world.
Karen: World, yeah.
This One Small Step conversation was facilitated and produced by Alysha Cancino, a student at the Reynolds School of Journalism.
Sign up to participate in KUNR’s 2024 One Small Step program here.
Nevada Humanities is a key community partner for this KUNR program.
StoryCorps’ One Small Step and the Radio Station Hubs are made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
