Perhaps we can agree that the Drake Equation is over-ballyhooed.
Certainly! And doubtless Sagan was a part of the ballyhooment (if there is such a word!).
Still, the Drake equation is a fairly good attempt at bringing some rigor, some attempt at understanding the underpinnings of the Fermi Paradox 'where is everybody?'
We can argue about the terms Drake included, or left out, we can argue about the weight each term was given, have an endlessly debate the resulting value, we can even argue the validity of A+B=C on purely semantic terms (or we could even be anti-semantic).
BUT even if flawed, even if absolutely incorrect, the Drake equation is an intellectual tool, it provides a way of attempting to organize our perception of the universe and an attempt to understand our place in it, and invites each and every one of us to replace it with something better.