Commentary Since ancient times, observers have remarked on the rapid deterioration and debasement of language during wars and revolutions. In his “History of the Peloponnesian War,” the Athenian general Thucydides (c. 460–400 BC) remarked how, “to fit in with the change of events, words, too, had to change their usual meanings.” In Tacitus’s “Agricola” (c. AD 98), Calcagus, a Caledonian chieftain, says of his Roman enemies, “They create a desert and call it peace.” Little has changed over the millennia. With the abuse of political authority comes the abuse of language, as we’re currently witnessing in Burma, also known as Myanmar. On Feb. 1, Burma’s military, the Tatmadaw, seized power from the duly elected government and announced a year-long state of emergency. Absurdly, the Tatmadaw justified the coup as necessary to “preserve democratic norms.” Immediately, the Chinese regime, in a perverse bit of wordplay worthy of “Alice in Wonderland,” referred to it as …