Phil Derrow, his wife Barbara and their daughter, Anna.
May 1 marks two major events in New Albany: the opening of the Center for Civil Discourse and Debate, and the first partnered lecture between the center and the New Albany Community Foundation.
The center is funded by the Barbara W. and Philip R. Derrow Family Foundation and, says Phil Derrow, starting such an organization has been a longtime goal for his family.
“I grew up in a family where argument was sport. We weren’t attacking each other, but we were all trying to win our game,” says Derrow. “We seem to have lost the ability – the willingness – to actually engage in what I refer to as an argument.”
Derrow says the word “argument” isn’t a loaded word in and of itself, but it has come to be associated with negativity. He hopes that, through the center, students in New Albany will be able to reclaim the word, and argue with compassion, understanding and logic.
“What I and my family are trying to do is reinvigorate a spirit of civil discourse, civil argument and debate such that we can… talk about things with our neighbors and friends and family and relearn how to do it in a way that doesn’t involve calling people names,” says Derrow. “A well-crafted argument is a thing of beauty.”
In addition to the annual partnerships with the Jefferson Series, the center is partnering with New Albany-Plain Local Schools to create a speech and debate team for middle school students and club for high school students.
“I would like for every student in New Albany 30 years from now to say, ‘I grew up in a family where argument is sport,’ and still love each other,” says Derrow. “We can learn to disagree about politics, the environment, religion – whatever taboo topic of the moment – and learn how to discuss and debate a topic with people who disagreed with them and still found those people to be good people.”
Amanda DePerro is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome ate feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
