SND - yes I think you are right.
I have scant regard for a pilot that can't fly the aircraft manually and HC has similar disdain for those that don't know the AP modes, submodes, degraded modes, FMS programming etc - the solution is somewhere in between as you suggest.
We both want the guys/gals in the cockpit to be as good as possible at their jobs, we just differ in our perspective since our jobs are/were different.
I suspect the difference is that I have scant regard for pilots who can't fly manually when required, and can't fly using the automation to its greatest advantage.
Whereas you have scant regard for pilots who can't fly manually, but if they don't understand the automation or make best use of it then it's a case of "Never mind at least they can fly properly".