Looking Back vs Looking Ahead

I caught this article in the Kansas City Star about the city's industrial past and uncertain future. A few things struck me:

- The Star doesn't include itself in the list of rapidly-dwindling employers. They've been through two rounds of layoffs, and are rumored to still be having trouble.

- The article references a Norman Rockwell painting called The Kansas City Spirit without actually showing it, and assumes the reader is familiar with it. Since the painting was made in the 50's, I suppose the author is writing mainly for readers in their 60's, which would explain the point above about the Star's troubles.

- it dwells on the past and only casually touches on some options for Kansas City's growth, such as Animal Science.

I think this article does a great job of capturing the Kansas City mentality of looking back nostalgically at the past with no clue on how to move forward. KC gets more and more backwater each year.