It looks like I'm a little late to chime in here, but I had to say: Boost- I totally get where you're coming from.

I am Christian and I have a lot of friends who aren't. They are my friends and we do get along wonderfully. They ask me questions (or not) and I discuss my religion/faith/beliefs/whathaveyou openly. I think they know that I am accepting of them even though they don't share my beliefs and that I won't try to ram them down their throats.

BUT!

You are right! At the end of the day, my understanding of the Gospel is that:

1) Life is short.
2) Eternity is forever
3) Christ wasn't kidding in John 3:3 when he said that there were entry requirements to getting into Heaven.

So, if I really cared about any of my friends... the last thing I'd do is sit there and not do what I could to "convert" them to Christ. There's a decent analogy in a burning building. If you notice that your appartment is on fire, it's your moral responsibility to tell as many people in your building about it and save everyone you can. Maybe you pull the fire alarm. Maybe you knock on doors as you collect your family and run down the hall... but how would you feel if your neighbors were burned alive and you didn't take the chance to warn them, even though you had the opportunity to?

4) While you might be able to force someone to become a member of your religion, you can't force them to share your belief and faith.
5) You must be tolerant of others who don't share your beliefs.
and
6) Tolerance sometimes means pretending 1-3 aren't true when in polite company. Ignoring the elephant in the room, as you said.

Being polite, if you think about it, always is some kind of charade. It's some kind of lie, right? It's dishonest, as you said. Bold faced honesty is not something we value much in society.