I think that's exactly the objection - whilst the Prime Directive is somewhat problematic and judgmental, it was also a backseat narrative - except in cases when someone struggled with it. What TNG did, and what the Orville does, is present complicated philosophical problems and centre them in characters. What Picard does, and what many more modern Sci-Fi writers seem to do, is bend the characters around the viewpoint they want them to espouse.

For example, there was zero need to introduce a time-travel element into Picard Season 2, and even less of a reason to root that time travel in contemporary America, unless you specifically want to comment on what's happening now. That's a poor writing choice, because you have the entirety of space and time to play about in. There are moral judgments being made under the guise of storytelling and that detracts from the quality of the story itself. It's poor writing and it's writing designed to virtue signal to other people who want to critique the modern age. That's fine, but it's not smart.

As a separate example, The Boys (Amazon) is clearly parodying Donald Trump. They have a character who for all intents and purposes is making exactly the same statements that Trump makes - and their comments on contemporary society are hidden behind an interesting and engaging story. The characters are multi-faceted, layered and complicated and their decisions are rooted in human/superhuman personalities needs and wants. The writing is damn clever and the messaging is nuanced. It's got things to say about now but it's hiding them behind decent storylines and excellently realised characters.

If you want to know what The Boys is critiquing and what it's trying to say about contemporary politics, then you have to think about it. You have to do the work. If you're not prepared to do the work, it's still a fun and somewhat gory watch - but you'll still enjoy it. Compare and contrast with Picard and they aren't anywhere near the same league - and that's sad, because the people who wrote The Boys probably grew up watching TNG.