"The Ethics of Dissent" or "The Only Stupid Question is the One Not Asked, Except For That One"

I watched a short clip of a recent interview with Noam Chomsky last night. Had he been at my supper table, I would have asked him to discuss the idea of dissent. "Mr. Chomsky," I would say, "Why are some questions socially unaskable? Why are some people politically untouchable? Why are some issues ethically unbreachable? Why do some questions bring praise and others bring prison?"

I want to know more than just why these things are not available for general discussion, but why most of us have ingrained in our conscience, the awareness of which issues to avoid. Who tells us that we should be cautious if our criticisms on an issue like conflicts in the Israel, who tells us that we should not be as hard on the Israeli's as we are on the Palestinians. Where do we learn that we should exercise extreme caution when questioning the government's intentions, methods or results in Iraq? How do we know these things?

It is more than just an extension of Political Correctness. I think it is a systemic bias that plagues our 'free' western world. But how? Where? and Why?

Comments?