A card-carrying member?_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

A card-carrying member?

Showing your card, you see, is just a way of verifying your identity. By extension, if figuratively speaking someone is described as a card carrying member of a certain political party he’s considered as a devoted member – fervently believing in that party’s ideals or philosophy.

All simple, innocent and cool, isn’t it? Yes, but in America, where card-carrying as a phrase is often a derogative term, giving bad connotations thanks to the Cold War between America and the Soviet Union. This, from Wikipedia:

The term “card-carrying” originally had no political connotation, and was used to describe membership in any organisation. During the Second Red Scare, the term was used as a label for members of the Communist Party, and was used in this manner by both the House Un-American Activities Committee investigations and Senator Joseph McCarthy. In the context of politics, the term remains derogatory. After the 1950s, the scope of the word expanded and is used for non-political applications.

Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed there were fifty-seven “card-carrying Communists” working for the United States Department of State, an allegation that was widely reported by American newspapers. This figure was different from the 205 “bad risks” figure, confusing reporters. The “fifty-seven card-carrying Communists” phrase first appears in a radio interview that McCarthy gave in Salt Lake City, and is the phrase that appears in the Congressional Record on the speech he gave at Wheeling. McCarthy made a distinction between “card-carrying Communists” and what he called “fellow travelers.” A card-carry Communist was considered a genuine member of the party, while a fellow traveler only sympathised with the ideology.