--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Kill or be killed, a nation of destiny…" description: "\"Kill or be killed, a nation of destiny has got to be filled.\" — The Clash" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ea/the-clash-20934_destiny_kill-or-be-killed-a-nation-of-destiny-ha_2417443.jpg" --- # Kill or be killed, a nation of destiny has got to be filled. ![“Kill or be killed, a nation of destiny has got to be filled.” quote by The Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ea/the-clash-20934_destiny_kill-or-be-killed-a-nation-of-destiny-ha_2417443.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ea/the-clash-20934_destiny_kill-or-be-killed-a-nation-of-destiny-ha_2417443.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ea/the-clash-20934_destiny_kill-or-be-killed-a-nation-of-destiny-ha_2417443.jpg) > “Kill or be killed, a nation of destiny has got to be filled.” [The Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The lyric asserts that a nation's destiny depends on aggressive survival, implying a ruthless, win‑or‑lose mindset. **In simple terms:** A nation's fate demands a fight‑or‑die attitude. Key Takeaway Consider the costs of relentless aggression. Themes power destiny conflict survival politics Mood tense defiant Type political philosophical When to use this quote - war - political campaigns - business competition - personal ambition Key Concepts imperialism nationalism zero‑sum thinking Questions to Reflect On - Is aggression always necessary for success? - What are the alternatives to a kill‑or‑be‑killed approach? A Different Perspective Such a stance can justify violence and ignore cooperation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Kill Or Be Killed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kill-or-be-killed/) ## Related quotes > [My squad is my family, my gun is my provider, and protector, and my rule is to kill or be killed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/my-squad-is-my-family-my-gun-is-my-provider-and-protector-and-my-rule/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [On the war field,kill or be killed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sniper/on-the-war-field-kill-or-be-killed/) [Sniper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sniper/) > [On the war field,is kill or be killed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sniper/on-the-war-field-is-kill-or-be-killed/) [Sniper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sniper/) > [“Do Unto Others Before They Do Unto You. Kill or Be Killed. Either Shit or Get Out of the Kitchen. Survival of the Fittest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/do-unto-others-before-they-do-unto-you-kill-or-be-killed-either-shit/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [It's like kill or be killed, that's my thing basically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-liu/it-s-like-kill-or-be-killed-that-s-my-thing-basically/) [Lucy Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-liu/) > [“I had to kill or be killed... It was the only way I could survive... But I never enjoyed it like YOU do. Yes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/park-joong-ki/i-had-to-kill-or-be-killed-it-was-the-only-way-i-could-survive-but-i/) Park Joong-Ki > [It wasnt until two or three years ago that I actually learned that in the end he actually did kill someone. But that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-kerry/it-wasnt-until-two-or-three-years-ago-that-i-actually-learned-that-in/) [Vanessa Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-kerry/) > [“Kill or be killed little warriors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koushun-takami/kill-or-be-killed-little-warriors/) [Koushun Takami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/koushun-takami/) > [“It didn’t matter which side you were on. It was an empty, cavernous world in which young boys groped around in the dark, dreading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farida-karodia/it-didn-t-matter-which-side-you-were-on-it-was-an-empty-cavernous/) [Farida Karodia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farida-karodia/) > [There are places and moments in America where this nation’s destiny has been decided...Selma is such a place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/there-are-places-and-moments-in-america-where-this-nation-s-destiny/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“Home is what you kill for. And I killed for Swift.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-skrutskie/home-is-what-you-kill-for-and-i-killed-for-swift/) [Emily Skrutskie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-skrutskie/) > [Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/patriotism-is-the-willingness-to-kill-and-be-killed-for-trivial/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [the same question arose in every soul: "For what, for whom, must I kill and be killed?"... p982](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-same-question-arose-in-every-soul-for-what-for-whom-must-i-kill/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“In two weeks the sheeplike masses of any country can be worked up by the newspapers into such a state of excited fury that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/in-two-weeks-the-sheeplike-masses-of-any-country-can-be-worked-up-by/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [People kill and are killed because they cling too tightly to their own beliefs and ideologies. When we believe that ours is the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/people-kill-and-are-killed-because-they-cling-too-tightly-to-their/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) ## More by The Clash > [Killers in America work seven days a week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/killers-in-america-work-seven-days-a-week/) [The Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/) > [Talent will always emerge in time, when lightening hits small wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/talent-will-always-emerge-in-time-when-lightening-hits-small-wonder/) [The Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/) > [Every cheap hood strikes a bargain with the world, and ends up making payments on a sofa or a girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/every-cheap-hood-strikes-a-bargain-with-the-world-and-ends-up-making/) [The Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/) > [They have no food, but the boy have gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/they-have-no-food-but-the-boy-have-gun/) [The Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/) > [Cold water in the face brings you back to this awful place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/cold-water-in-the-face-brings-you-back-to-this-awful-place/) [The Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/) > [I was lying in my room, it was raining drugs all afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/i-was-lying-in-my-room-it-was-raining-drugs-all-afternoon/) [The Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/) > [No Elvis, no Beatles, no Rolling Stones, it's 1977.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/no-elvis-no-beatles-no-rolling-stones-it-s-1977/) [The Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/) > [You can be a hero in an age of none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/you-can-be-a-hero-in-an-age-of-none/) [The Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/) > [You're dead from the neck up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/you-re-dead-from-the-neck-up/) [The Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/) > [I wanna riot, White riot, of my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/i-wanna-riot-white-riot-of-my-own/) [The Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/) > [Hollywood, with makeup bleeding all over the cracks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/hollywood-with-makeup-bleeding-all-over-the-cracks/) [The Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/) > [It's been tested by research, that he who fucks nun will later join the church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/it-s-been-tested-by-research-that-he-who-fucks-nun-will-later-join/) [The Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/) > [I got good advice from the advertising world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/i-got-good-advice-from-the-advertising-world/) [The Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/) > [In these days, nations are militant, we have slavery under government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/in-these-days-nations-are-militant-we-have-slavery-under-government/) [The Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/) > [Nembutal numbs it all, but I prefer alcohol.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/nembutal-numbs-it-all-but-i-prefer-alcohol/) [The Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/) [Explore all 30 The Clash quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/) ## More Destiny quotes > [... War on the destiny of man! Doom on the sun! Before death takes you, O take back this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/war-on-the-destiny-of-man-doom-on-the-sun-before-death-takes-you-o/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anatomy is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/anatomy-is-destiny/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [ Man blindly works the will of fate. \[Ger., Blindlings that er blos den Willen des Geschickes.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-martin-wieland/man-blindly-works-the-will-of-fate-ger-blindlings-that-er-blos-den/) [Christoph Martin Wieland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-martin-wieland/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“It's morning now, and I miss the soft rasp of her voice already. Ugh. I'm in trouble, aren't I?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-shand/it-s-morning-now-and-i-miss-the-soft-rasp-of-her-voice-already-ugh-i/) [Pat Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-shand/) > [You can't choose what stays and what stays away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/you-can-t-choose-what-stays-and-what-stays-away/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [“Failing to meet your true destiny is a tragic act of free will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthon-st-maarten/failing-to-meet-your-true-destiny-is-a-tragic-act-of-free-will/) [Anthon St. Maarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthon-st-maarten/) > [Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It's something quite magical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/somehow-destiny-comes-into-play-these-children-end-up-with-you-and/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Destiny is the ordained intention God has sacredly prepared with your name on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-lynch/destiny-is-the-ordained-intention-god-has-sacredly-prepared-with-your/) [John S. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-lynch/) > [“There is no interaction without God with interaction with men”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/there-is-no-interaction-without-god-with-interaction-with-men/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Fate and future both are servant to the determined, for they are nothing but creation of human determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fate-and-future-both-are-servant-to-the-determined-for-they-are/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) [Browse all 7,925 Destiny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Kill or be killed, a nation of destiny has got to be filled.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "The Clash" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/kill-or-be-killed-a-nation-of-destiny-has-got-to-be-filled/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Destiny" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/kill-or-be-killed-a-nation-of-destiny-has-got-to-be-filled/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ea/the-clash-20934_destiny_kill-or-be-killed-a-nation-of-destiny-ha_2417443.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ea/the-clash-20934_destiny_kill-or-be-killed-a-nation-of-destiny-ha_2417443.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ea/the-clash-20934_destiny_kill-or-be-killed-a-nation-of-destiny-ha_2417443.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Kill or be killed, a nation of destiny has got to be filled.” — The Clash", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "The Clash", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-clash/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Kill or be killed, a nation...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/kill-or-be-killed-a-nation-of-destiny-has-got-to-be-filled/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-clash/kill-or-be-killed-a-nation-of-destiny-has-got-to-be-filled/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```