Can flaps be used to perform rotation and flare? TL; DR using flaps to directly control sink/climb rate near ground = simpler and faster response = easy to fly airplane?
Rotating is the pitch up during takeoff that causes the aircraft to leave the runway.
Flare is the pitch up just before touchdown that causes the sink rate to drop.
In both maneuvers, a downforce is applied to the tail, to re orient the aircraft to increase the angle of attack, so as to increase lift. The objective is this lift, rather than a change in orientation.
Hence, would it not make sense to use a method to directly alter lift, if available? Specifically, would it not make sense to increase the flap settings just for the moment these maneuvers are done? Takeoff is done at a non-maximum flap setting. When the airspeed nears the required value for liftoff, flaps could be lowered to full. Final approach can be done with takeoff flaps, and just above the runway, instead of pulling back, the flaps could be lowered.
I know the flaps are slow to deploy, but the moment of the fuselage makes pitching slow as well, doesn't it? Even if the slow movement of the flaps erodes any advantage in terms of response time, the decreased angle of attack at the leading edge would be favorable in terms of stall characteristics, wouldn't it? And the requirements to touch the main gear first on landing could be satisfied with even a relatively small pitch angle. And tail strikes could be avoided.
While this is an interesting idea, there are some key issues with it. As a GA pilot, here are my issues with that concept.

Changing flap settings causes signifigant differences in aircraft handling. If I was, say, on short final, and I changed my aircraft's configuration - it would be difficult to maintain a stable approach profile to the runway. If I were to deploy my flaps just above the runway, the aircraft would lose its &quot;stable approach&quot; and I would not have as much control authority over where, when, and how my aircraft touches down. There is a reason GA and Commercial pilots alike are taught to maintain a stable approach and have the aircraft fully configured well before landing.

I would never adjust flaps on take off or climb out (until at a reasonable altitude). The reason is simple. First of all, aircraft have operating limitations. You would not take off with full flaps because they generate too much drag, and hence limit aircraft performance. They are great for landing because of that same drag. However, If I were to take off with (theoretically) full flaps in a Cherokee or Cessna, it would not be safe to retract them until sufficient airspeed and altitude has been attained. Raising flaps at low airspeeds causes a noteworthy forward pitching motion and a temporary arrest of the climb rate. This is dangerous when in a low-airspeed, low-alitude situation and is warned against by CFIs.