And you are welcome to believe as you choose. I'll never insult your faith and never have.
I don't have a problem with a nativity scene on the courthouse lawn, either. In Jefferson's great phrase, "It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg".
I love that Jefferson quote as it sums up what we should all hold dear when it comes to religion, our religion, the religion of others and the rights of non-believers.
While I am for all intense purposes an atheist as I do not believe in a supernatural supreme being or in supernatural beings or in the supernatural world period, I usually refrain from calling myself an Atheist, preferring something like “non-believer” or “non-religious” or simply a “rationalist” because of the few Atheists who make complete asses of themselves, especially at this time of year, those who have no idea of what religious freedom really means.
Like you, I'm pro-America, pro-life, and pro-liberty and I've been an atheist nearly all my days and I have absolutely no problem with public Nativity scenes or calling the big brightly lit pine tree in the town square exactly what it should be called – a Christmas Tree and not a “Holiday” or “Seasonal” or “Winter” or “Festive” tree. Unless I know for sure that someone is Jewish or of some other non-Christian faith, I wish people a Merry Christmas (I have no problem BTW wishing my Jewish friends a blessed Hanukkah, my Hindu friends a joyous Deepavali (Festival of Lights), etc.) but I have no problem with my Christian friends and family or complete strangers wishing me a Merry Christmas. My Jewish and Hindu friends wish me a Merry Christmas BTW and I appreciate that.
While I may not believe in a personal supernatural supreme being and savior, I consider myself a “Cultural Christian” as it is the culture of my forbearers and a big part of the predominate culture of the country that I love.
And I love Christmas. I love the story of the Nativity, I love the music (including traditional and ancient religious carols along with the more secular Christmas songs), the lights, the decorations, the food and most of all the spirit of giving and of charity. I love sharing with my niece and nephew and now their little children our family traditions and recipes; some of the PA German/Dutch and Welsh traditions originating from my mother’s side of the family and some of the traditions from my Norwegian born father’s side of the family along with the American traditions from my childhood. For instance, it’s been a long standing tradition that “Christmas” doesn’t officially start in our family until the “real” Santa makes his appearance at the end of the Macy’s parade on Thanksgiving. I always watch A Charlie Brown Christmas and get choked up at the end when Linus explains the real meaning of Christmas every single time just as I do when the Grinch’s heart grows and I watch the 1951 movie version of A Christmas Carol every Christmas Eve. I love baking Christmas cookies and giving them out, I put a Christmas wreath on my front door and put up a Christmas Tree decorated with family heirloom hand blown glass Christmas ornaments, a few of which came over to America with my mother’s great-grandparents from Germany in the mid-1800’s.
The only other holiday that gets me as teary eyed and feeling all warm and fuzzy inside is The 4th of July.
I tend to think that there are a good number of us “non-believers”, a good many of us conservatives like you and me and others here. The militant Athiests are more akin to Communists IMO. Unfortunately they are loud and militant and angry, were as most of the rest of us are a silent majority among non-believers who are simply content to live and let live. So the “believers” don’t hear from us as we don’t find it necessary to say otherwise, to question or insult their faith or stand in their way in practicing it or among those of us who have not abandoned the traditions of Christmas.
Remember the old phrase “Give credit where credit is due”? Celebrating Christmas without a belief in the Savior is what I would call “eating the seed corn.” There is nothing contributed to the next generation. To continue Christmas, you have believe in the real meaning of Christmas, otherwise it will become a silly secular annual event used by commercial interests and eventually die out.
We celebrate Christmas because Christ was born. Without that, you are missing the point. It’s not just a cozy, picturesque time of year, with special music and food. He became one of us and lived among us, an unfathomable mystery and miracle—and just what we needed, although few people knew it at the time.