A few random thoughts on the statement above:

• This is another way of stating Kant’s Second Maxim to treat people as ends, rather than means. After all, what is a cause other than something that you’re supposed to treat as more important than a single human being
• Viewed through the lens of corporate management, this implies that one should build loyalty to the team, rather than to an abstract “company”
• Many historians have noted that soldiers sacrifice their own lives for their squad-mates, not for their country. Dying for your country may sound noble, but when it comes down to it, more people are likely to die for their buddy.
• This also reinforces the need to select your companions carefully; if you fall in with bad company, belief in those around you can lead you astray.
• In the end, is there any cause that cannot be measured in terms of how it benefits individual human beings? Free speech isn’t valuable on its own, but rather for its ability to help us govern ourselves justly.