How did that line go?
"You don't win wars by dying for your country. You win wars by making the other poor dumb bastard die for HIS country."
Or something to that effect. According to folklore, Native Americans (and Klingons) said "Today is a good day to die." That's a good attitude to take when facing desperate odds. If you give yourself up for dead, you can fight all the harder because you aren't worried about trying to survive. However, when it comes to death and most other things, truly it is better to give than to receive.