To hear the hysterical, lunatic left tell it, America is a war zone, constantly awash in violence and populated by the most deadly and dangerous people to ever live. Reality bears little resemblance although we are among the most heavily armed people on earth. Armed citizens and freedom are directly correlated. Thus, until recently, Americans enjoyed freedom as few have in history. Lately, things change. The guns are still here but the people have become obsessed with triviality. Stumbling around, looking for Pokemon, getting tattoos, eating sugar-fried fat with extra butter, worshiping at the false alters of television and political lies have all taken their toll on Americans.

Still, hope lives on. Virginia Thrasher, a nineteen-year old woman from Virginia, took the first gold medal in the Rio Olympics yesterday. She outperformed the world’s best in shooting – 10m air rifle. Thrasher thrashed her opponents, including two previous gold medalists from China.

Yahoo News.

Surprisingly, despite being so heavily armed, Americans have not dominated shooting sports as one might expect. At least not in recent decades. Our shooters face tremendous competition from Europe, Russia, and Asia. American women have fared a little better than American men.

Ms. Thrasher credits her grandfather with sparking her interest in shooting; she began deer hunting in eight grade.

“I got my first deer and I liked the adrenaline of pulling the trigger,” she said.

She then joined her high school air rifle team and was recruited by West Virginia University, where she became a national collegiate champion as a freshman this year.

With her non-nonsense style, Thrasher seemed unfazed by her seasoned field and consistently scored in the 10 points target area over the 20 rounds.

Afterwards, she noted that she had not attended the Olympics’ opening ceremony Friday night and had instead gone to bed early for her Olympic debut.

Like all American shooters, Thrasher faced the inevitable question of what she thinks about gun control in the United States, a hot-button issue in this election year.

She responded matter of factly that the controversy over guns in America “really is just distracting from our sport, which is very different.”

She’s right about the disconnect between Olympic shooting and gun control. Even in countries with stringent freedom controls, shooting is still a sport. Some of those countries (France, China, etc.) excel on the range.

Her story is one of millions in the U.S. Yet, it highlights the importance of teaching our young, from an early age, the value and joy of firearms. My daughter first plinked with a bolt-action .22 at the age of eight. Fathers, mothers, grandfathers, and other elders must continue to instill in our children, boys and girls, the love of guns and shooting.

That way, young girls may continue to experience the thrill of the hunt and dream of world-class competition. The left can continue to dream too – a nightmare of their twisted imagination where criminals and terrorists are constantly at risk and an indomitable people resist tyranny through forceful freedom.

Congratulations, Mrs. Thrasher. Thank you for carrying on our golden traditions.

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