The Essays | Hot Button Gallery

Forty-four essays by Carol E. Williams — exploring the social, political, and cultural ideas that animate the work of Hot Button Gallery. Each piece is an act of looking, questioning, and speaking plainly.

Politics & Power

On governance, resistance, and the state of democracy

1The Age of Uterine LawRead 2Who Is the Enemy?Read 3Thanks for Not Being PresidentialRead 4Our American DNARead 5Are There Two Americas?Read 6That MAGA ThingRead 13Mr. Trump, Tear Down This WallRead 14What Is TDS?Read 27My Fantasy Tax ReformRead

42The United States of Alabama Read See & Hear

Gender, Body & Rights

On women, identity, and contested freedoms

7The Parable of the Right to Refuse Read See & Hear

9The Ultimate Me TooRead 11Sorry About That Sexual RevolutionRead 17Welcome to the ManosphereRead 28I Am the Light LadyRead 34Why Is the Stork Dressed Like a Man?Read

41The Other Sexual Assault Read See & Hear

Race, Justice & History

On memory, inequality, and the American record

18It's Just Like the 60's — The 1860'sRead 20What I Learned from HistoryRead 23Remembering Operation BabyliftRead 24A Gift for Colin KaepernickRead 39Our Missing MonumentsRead

40One of Them Read See & Hear

Violence, Guns & Safety

On weapons, harm, and the cost of inaction

22Every Gun That Is MadeRead 26A More Objective View of School ShootingsRead 33McNamara's MoronRead 38First, Do No HarmRead

Culture, Media & Society

On public life, noise, and the shape of things

8Sounding the AlarmRead 10The Other EpidemicRead 12Fake ThinkingRead 15The Sound of Noise PollutionRead 16The Scent of Air PollutionRead

19The Immortal Cells of Ignorance Read See & Hear

29It's Like Eighth Grade All Over AgainRead 32By the NumbersRead 35The List a Mile LongRead 36Fire the ScriptwritersRead 43Share the AirRead 44The Reverend Doctor SheriffRead

Faith, Education & Community

On schools, belief, and how we live together

21What Would You Stand For?Read 25Prayer in Private SchoolsRead 37Unmasking Our Inner SelvesRead

Personal & Reflective

On memory, loss, and the examined life

30All I WantRead

31The Wound That Never Healed Read See & Hear