If people are trapped under an oppressive regime and want freedom, and a NGO "assists" them in protesting and toppling their government in order to become more democratic and more free, isn't that what we all should want?  This conception of the whole business is hard to argue against, and I feel like I need to get my head straight about it because I do infact believe in freedom and I don't want people trapped in oppressive regimes and I do think soft power of free speech and convincing people is the better form of power.

But in practical terms it seems to have been used for power plays, for resources (originally for oil, maybe always for oil?), not to actually better peoples lives.

I think people need to better their own lives from the ground up using freedom tech like bitcoin and nostr and tor.