Kids are instilled with this idea that fiat money "makes sense" when it doesn't. The first time you tell a kid about fiat money they don't know how it can be so, but a few years later it's accepted as reality. To change this reality is near impossible, like changing someone who is muslim to atheism. Such programming takes many years to change, it's very gradual.
I don't think people are brainwashed into believing fiat money makes sense, I think the majority of people don't know and don't care how it works. Although one could probably argue this has to do with the fact that very, very little is taught about it in school, so people just assume that "it works." The problem with bitcoin is that its following is great about educating people about the ills of fiat, but not so good about the problems of deflation. Hell, even Lew Rockwell had an oft-cited article around here for awhile reinforcing the "goodness of deflation" by using the example of computers and appliances, because clearly deflation due to technological and productivity increases in an inflationary currency is the same as general deflation.
It seems to me that an outside observer would see bitcoin proponents attempting to "brainwash" new recruits in the same way you accuse the educational/government(?) system of doing. It's astonishing how quickly I see some newbie posters regurgitate some of the bitcoinomics arguments I've seen and heard refined here over the last couple of years.
How is designing and discussing alternatives not doing anything about it? Rome and Bitcoin weren't built in a day.