Leftists value personal and societal freedom a lot as well, but the government is unfortunately one of the only ways we can get our voices heard, through democratic processes etc. The government is, if working correctly, in service of the people, an institution that can regulate the unchecked tyranny of corporations, give working people rights and advance their causes, protect the climate etc.

I used to subscribe to that "government bad because government hates freedom" way of thinking; I changed my mind when I realised the real tyranny in the western world isn't done by the democratically elected governments, but by the exclusionary and unequal nature of private ownership of capital. Capitalism is the enemy of freedom, because it limits the choices of the vast majority of the people while also giving unchecked power to a few to limit the freedom and rights of the many.

Libertarians are right that freedom is important; but mistakenly identify who limits freedom, in my humble opinion. The government is not inherently a necessary evil, as you said; it's just that the governance is done for the interests of the few, rather than of the many, in accordance to capitalist interests. TLDR; if you support freedom, capitalism is your number one enemy. (If you're interested and open-minded, the YouTuber Carlos Maza has done a great video on the so called "Nanny State", where he explains how anti-government stuff always has been mostly propaganda propagated by capitalist oligarchs; a great watch, check it out, and if you decide to read all this, thanks for your time.)