MELANCHOLIA AND MORALISM collects 14 years of essays from AIDS activist Douglas Crimp. Here he provides a look back at the AIDS crisis and how various institutions, such as the government, arts organizations, and the gay community have responded to it. In chronicling the history of AIDS, Crimp calls out to everyone to rethink how they conceive of the disease, and asks if the U.S., its leaders, and its most prominent citizens are doing all they can do to combat it, without villainizing those who suffer from it.