Re the second point, please avoid telling people what is in the spirit of rationality unless you identify specific inconsistencies between their behavior and their goals, or between different goals that they have simultaneously. “Rationality” does not dictate goals.
You do have a point, hence my qualifier about instrumental goals. The point I was trying to make is that I cannot imagine joining the IDF to be a terminal goal, and there are better actions to actualize one’s love for the country than joining its military, at least in the case of Israel. As it happens, I was right and the OP does have instrumental goals unrelated to patriotism.
Re the second point, please avoid telling people what is in the spirit of rationality unless you identify specific inconsistencies between their behavior and their goals, or between different goals that they have simultaneously. “Rationality” does not dictate goals.
You do have a point, hence my qualifier about instrumental goals. The point I was trying to make is that I cannot imagine joining the IDF to be a terminal goal, and there are better actions to actualize one’s love for the country than joining its military, at least in the case of Israel. As it happens, I was right and the OP does have instrumental goals unrelated to patriotism.