I really don't see how Apple's approach is any better than good defaults with hidden configuration. Nobody is arguing that you should have to configure and mana

I really don't see how Apple's approach is any better than good defaults with hidden configuration. Nobody is arguing that you should have to configure and manage everything yourself--just that such an option should exist and be relatively accessible. If you don't want to do it, just ignore that option; if you do, it's right there and reachable. Your argument seems to be similar to something along the lines of "porn is bad, porn filters are good therefore we should ban all porn from the internet". The best solution is to allow you to block it--maybe even by default--but also allow you not to block it.