Pledge Ingenious

Jennifer Silverberg

Eric Hall (with Chris Deckard): "I think that what we really fear is the past, that what has happened before will happen once again."

Jennifer Silverberg

Deckard and Hall will be joined by a stageful of performers and equipment for Freedom and Fear.

Details

Friday, Dec. 7. The Forest Park Experimental Music Ensemble also performs at the free event.

St. Louis County Community College-Forest Park

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More About

• Eric Hall
• Roy Campbell
• Chris Deckard
• Joseph McCarthy
• Michael Marwit

Hall's goal is not to be allowed to write the history of this night or even prod the other musicians to write history for him: "I've put together notes for everyone that are technical so they understand how this is happening and so they get a better idea of the formula, and then I've also explained it. But, really, there isn't any certain view or agenda that I'm trying to achieve with it. It's not like by participating, these people are saying they have the same outlook. The whole point is that there are a lot of different individuals and there are various perspectives, and at the end of it all we have to see everyone's input or at least understand everyone's input to act as a collective. The winner is the collective voice."

These are the ideas Hall wants people to consider on the 60th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and in the turbulent wake of Sept. 11. "This isn't about my political beliefs," Hall says. "It is about trying not to be dictated by fear. Being rational and compassionate and, if you feel justice has to be served, doing it in a sensible, compassionate way." Hall expands on this in the closing lines of his written notes: "Compassion is the most important freedom to protect ... the freedom to grow beyond fear and instead hold accountable those guilty and enforce accurate justice, and the freedom to not keep quiet when those who represent us do not respect the very freedoms that they were assigned to protect."