Michael Clyde

His apartment, neat though crowded with videos and computers, was a hub of activity. I made an appointment to talk with Michael Clyde about his thoughts on humanism, and on some of his personal background, but as one friend would phone, and then another would knock at his door, I quickly gave up. Simply observing Mike was enough.

The first friend that came to see him was learning how to shoot. He had a membership application to a local gun club, and had come to ask Mike to co-sign it for him. As Mike read through the document, asking him to vouch for his friend's responsibility and personal background, a conversation began.

Mike believes in learning how to use a gun properly and responsibly. Having been in the Air Force ROTC for three years, he has come to learn a great respect for weapons, and their responsible use.

Another friend who dropped by, a musician and computer enthusiast, also had many things with which to relate with Mike. Mike has played percussion for years, and works as a computer technician. He knows over 15 computer languages, and would have obtained a computer science degree if a bad car accident had not prevented him.

Mike has two sisters and three brothers, the oldest of which died in a motor cycle accident two years ago. Allan, his father, graduated from BYU with a physics degree, and from Berkley with a Ph.D. in particle acceleration. Mike was excited to tell me this, and proudly talked of his father's involvement in the Bevetron accelerator, and the fact that his father was involved in what became the Stars Wars defense project.

Michael joined the Humanists of Utah last year. When I asked why, he had much he wanted to say, "People tend to believe religion has the answers for how we should interact...[but] fanaticism is unreasonable. Humanism says we should act with sensibility ...and as rational beings. We should be the most we can be, and evolve to be better. The problem with religion is the practice of intolerance. Humans should learn to live together."

--David Evans