WHAT'S IN A WORD

Heritech (pronounced Hair-uh-tek), was coined to express and embody our "philosophy of commerce." Heritech was derived from two words— "Heritage Technologies"—words which would seem mutually exclusive—almost opposites. Heritage implies something coming from or looking to the past, while technology implies something very modern and innovative—looking toward the future. This seeming incongruity is indicative of our times and our position in a changing world. Additionally, the resemblance to the word "heretic" is not altogether coincidental.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language provides the following definitions:

The controversial opinions we hold aren't necessarily in the realm of religion, but rather in the largely overlooked field of "philosophy" which we apply to our approach to business and the fields of technology, politics, and economics. We ask questions such as, "Where is technology taking us?", "Where should it be leading us?" and, "Where do we actually want to go?"

Just where such questions lead is beyond the scope of this attempt to define a single word, so we will not attempt any answers here. Obviously, as a "Dot-Com" web-hosting service and Internet publishing company, we are in a high tech business. Thus it can be said that we are at least on the fuzzy periphery of the cutting edge of the global technological revolution. But though we may be very progressive in embracing this enabling technology, we are also rather conservative. We're about conservation and protection of the environment; about historical preservation; and about the preservation of heritage and culture—ours as well as everybody else's. We wish to protect what we consider our own cultural values, and hope others wish to protect their own. While we're for freedom of expression and the right of free speech, we are also very much for common decency and the respect for the sensitivities of others—not only minority sensitivities, but those of the majority as well.

Heritech.com embodies a philosophy much more than a commercial purpose. In addition to providing quality web hosting services to our customers, our goal is to use the technologies at our disposal for the dissemination of information, hopefully touched here and there by at least a modicum of wisdom. We would use the awesome tools available to us to help make this a better nation and world—embracing what we consider to be the positive and discarding the negative. We identify primarily with what might be described as Anglo-American Christian cultural values, but we are not fettered by narrow views or fundamentalist dogma. We are not part of the Religious Right, nor associated in any way with any religious, esoteric, or political organization (our logo's symbolism notwithstanding). We hold open-minded views, but cling to the cultural moorings, and ethical and moral standards, associated with our unique Christian American philosophy and political heritage.

We are Sovereign Individuals, American nationalists and constitutionalists – yet we are also responsible citizens of the world. This said, however, we are not party to "globalism," the "New World Order," or the "new international economic order" as these concepts are now being formulated and promoted in the world. We believe in individual responsibility and "self-government," with political powers vested first in the individual, then upward through representative republican governmental institutions at the local, state, and national level, and we very much believe in the continued viability and necessity of the nation-state system, and the individual uniqueness of individual nation-states along with preserving and protecting the many historical cultural enclaves within each.

Though we believe in the concept of "rugged individualism," we believe that nations should possess a collective and well articulated purpose commensurate with individual freedom, liberty, and justice for all, for their peoples, along with economic independence to the degrees possible at every level. And we also believe in international cooperation through forums such as a "United Nations" organization which does not (or should not) preempt or supercede national sovereignty nor purport to "rule" the world or take on the trappings and purposes of "world government."

We do have our biases—even prejudices—but while we may be discriminating in our moral, cultural, literary, and artistic tastes, we do not discriminate, or advocate discrimination, against any other cultural group. We believe that the wonderful cultural and ethnic diversity of this world can only survive if each and every cultural and ethnic group strives to preserve its own unique and positive attributes—and we all have an equal stake in preserving the ecological diversity and life-sustaining viability of our planet.

We live in wonderfully interesting times, but they are also worrisome, if not downright frightening times. In addition to the global terrorist threat, we see what has been a long ongoing assault against both cultural and ecological diversity in this country and the world, often promoted under the false banner of encouraging "diversity" and promoting a uniform global "modernity" supposedly for the benefit of mankind. A Wal-Mart, McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, Wendy's or Motel 6 on every village street corner in our world isn't our idea of progress. And, though we love sushi, a sushi bar in every town or village in the world isn't our idea of progress either.

Unfortunately, this "Brave New World" we live in threatens the very existence of mankind while, in the interim, crushing (like a seemingly unstoppable steam-roller), the traditions, cultural identities, and the agricultural and economic systems (not to mention environmental diversity), that have served mankind well since the dawn of civilization. Those systems perhaps needed some conformational fine tuning in the interests of peace, justice, and multilateral cooperation, but not total destruction.

We believe modern technology should improve our lives and enhance our future without destroying the many things that have proven good and useful in the past. We believe that there should be a guiding philosophy in all things commercial as well as personal (not to mention political), looking toward both conservation and sustainability. The present on-going, politically protected and promoted, corporate take-over of local and global markets (sometimes called globalism or the New World Order), appears to lack such a philosophy.

E. F. Schumacher, in his book, Small is Beautiful, gave an insight into how modernity and technological innovation could result in a world in which "people mattered." George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four provided an alternate insight into the very future we seem to be witnessing and experiencing in spite of his timely forewarning.

The global telecommunications and technological revolution is a wonderful genie that cannot be put back into the lamp. As wonderful as it is, it's much more than a double-edged sword — it's a multi-edged tool with more edges than we can easily count — and those edges can be as destructive as they can be productive. Computers and the Internet are ideal tools for intellectual freedom and the broadest possible global dissemination of knowledge and productive endeavor, but they also provide the necessary machinery for the realization of a truly Orwellian world. The Internet can be an oracle of learning, knowledge, and wisdom or a dangerously addictive and destructive new opiate, as well as the instrument of tyranny and oppression. It can be a universal library and teacher or a seedy opium den and nest of vipers—depending on the use to which it is put.

It is the purpose of Heritech.com to harness some of the positive attributes of this formidable technology to provide a forum for both scholarly and lay content (articles and web-sites), which reinforce or compliment our own philosophy. This is not to say that alternate views will not be represented on this domain (at least in the form of linkage). We believe that our domain should provide a portal to the entire world of ideas. Because all things have limits, actual content on this domain will carefully considered and selected.

The subjects we are primarily interested are (but are not limited to): American social, political, and cultural heritage; history; historical preservation; alternative healthcare; alternative energy; self-help; genealogy; national and local economics; national and international politics; the family farm; sustainable agriculture; international travel and other cultures; and maritime subjects.

We take a special interest in our own area of Southern Illinois. The local subjects we are most interested in are history, genealogy, agriculture (farmers' markets, cooperatives, etc.), local crafts and unique businesses, tourism, and the Shawnee National Forest.

Commercial activities envisioned when this domain was first created were never perused and have been abandoned in favor of merely providing a forum for ideas and discourse. Heritech.com was an Amazon.com associate for some time, but that relationship ended when Amazon abandoned it's Illinois associates due to the state "sales" or "use" tax problem. Heritech.com essentially became, as it has always been, in fact, a non-profit endeavor which the webmaster alone personally supports.

Heritech.com both advocates and hosts vigorous political, religious, and economic debate. We will host web-pages that contain dissenting views in those and related fields. All we ask is that discussion and content be held to high ethical and moral standards, and that traditional concepts of common decency in language be observed. We have our own "Heritech Code of Good Internet Publishing Practices." While we certainly don't require, or even want, "politically correct" content, we do insist on common decency. We will not host "hate-content" nor subjects pertaining to sex, except within the context of commentary on such subjects. Of course, we define what is or isn't "hate-content" and what would be considered inappropriate content for this domain. While we are very much for self-censorship in the interests of common decency, we are equally against government censorship on the Internet or elsewhere. Governments almost universally lack sufficient moral rectitude and collective wisdom to presume to censor what The People read or write.

Heritech.com hosts "politically incorrect" pages which may be considered right-wing or oriented toward political conspiracy theory. Racialist views are not taboo in this domain, but due respect for all races, ethnic, cultural, or religious groups are, and should be, a guiding factor. Let's face it, the good, the bad, and the ugly come in all colors and from all backgrounds.

This Heritech logo (one of many) will no doubt raise a few eyebrows. But no, we are not practitioners of the occult, cult members, or secret associates of the infamous Illuminati. Nor are we connected to the United States government, Federal Reserve System, or CFR. We attach our own meanings to this ancient symbol. Here, earth, sea, and sky form the background, representing all Creation. The pyramid is the most stable and enduring structure ever contrived by man. It represents the highest and most enduring endeavors of mankind as well as the hierarchic structure of man-made organizations. The sunburst represents wisdom and enlightenment. The detached point of the pyramid and enclosed small triangle represent the "All Seeing Eye," of God the Creator.