A4,
I understood your point and globally agreed with it. I am not an anti automation pilot.
My comment was focused on your mention of "lack of practice" (amongst other valid reasons) as a reason for giving priority to automation. It's simply wrong. I'll leave it to your jugdment to figure out where this kind of logic can lead us if pushed far enough.
And I did not imply that hand flying ability was about trying to "prove" anything. It's merely a case of being skilled enough to take over automation at the right time and with confidence when the AP tend to deviate from the expected plan for whatever reason.
Indeed automation can fail.
Or, can be mis-used. You quote some of the possible reasons:
"Automation complacency? Too lazy to study? Training deficiency? Take your pick."
Why focusing on the "blame" mindset thus forgetting other possible factors such as fatigue or simple mistake due to our human nature ? These automation interfaces can involve a number of parameters each of which being a potencial source of entry error leading to an unwanted behavior of your aeroplane. So error will always bite you one day or another and it's not necessarily a case of poor training or lazyness.
That's why a pilot has to be able to rely on solid handflying skills as an ultimate life insurance