It is a clear truth that those who every day barter away other men’s liberty will soon care little for their own.

Otis warns that complicity in the erosion of others’ rights is self-corrupting and ultimately self-destructive. If a person (or a society) grows accustomed to trading away “other men’s liberty” for convenience, profit, or security, they normalize coercion and weaken the moral and legal habits that protect freedom. Over time, the same indifference and mechanisms used against others will be turned inward, leaving even the bargainers less vigilant about their own liberties. The line reflects a core revolutionary-era insight: liberty is interdependent, and the defense of rights cannot be selectively applied without undermining the whole.