Simplicity in O'Connor's sense: Positive or Negative?

"Good Country People" is one of those stories where phrases just hit you, reverberate, and stay with you.  The philosophy contrasting with simplicity and the condescending education of the handicapped throughout the book really stands out.  Again, it's like what we talked about in class.  Flannery O'Connor visualizes problems, especially the hurt in Hulga, through her missing leg.  Although she is missing a leg, she's missing far more than that, lacking moral truth and actual beliefs.  However, while reading, I was forced to ask myself: which is better, to view everything as bleak and empty, and understand the ignorance of those around you, or to be ignorant like Hulga's mother?  The last lines of "Some can't be that simple, I know I never could" summarize this line of thought, contrasting the ignorance with the educated.  Mrs. Hopewell is simple in the sense of her title of "Good, Country People," simple and accepting of the things around her without question.  Is this better or worse than Hulga's contempt of the world around her, only to be shown that there are still many things she doesn't understand, despite her many degrees?