One of the most popular pages on Facebook, Humans of New York, has grown to obtain a cult-like following over the course of the past few years. If you aren't a fan of this page yet then you're seriously missing out.

Here is a brief summary of how it all works, a man named Brandon started this page in November of 2010 with the hope of portraying the unique lives of New York City's vast population. Since then Brandon has amassed a large catalog of pictures, quotations, and short anecdotes from the lives of average New Yorkers.

Some of these stories have a light-hearted message, while others tackle some very heavy subject matter. In recent months in particular Brandon has taken his explorations to a global scale, traveling the world and experiencing the lives of many different people. Not only is this a good contrast from the norm of New Yorkers, but it is genuinely eye-opening to see how people of different cultures and ethnicities go about their day-to-day lives.

As of early December Brandon traveled to different areas throughout Jordan and Turkey and, along the way, he experienced first-hand the many trials and tribulations of refugees who are attempting to escape the perils of war and begin a new life in the land of opportunity: America. On the HONY Facebook page Brandon stated, "I’ve just returned from a trip to Jordan and Turkey, where I had the unique opportunity to interview twelve Syrian families that have been cleared for resettlement in America. These families have just reached the finish line of a multi-year screening process, and it was quite an emotional experience to meet with them at this juncture. The life of a refugee in America is by no means easy. But for these families, their resettlement has finally brought the possibility of an end to years of intense hardship. I’m very much looking forward to sharing their stories with you over the coming days."

Now, I must admit, I spend an obscene amount of time refreshing this page and waiting for the next installment of these families' stories. I do this on a regular basis with all of his subject matter (because it's just so good), but this particular topic has proven to be especially poignant. These families have truly been to hell and back. They have worked hard to gain educations, to create lives, and to make a difference in the world, only to have their lives uprooted by war and violence. Some who used to be renowned engineers or doctors not only lost their careers and life work, but lost many family members along the way. Simply looking at their pictures is heart breaking, but the dialogue beneath hits even closer to home.

Perhaps the most influential message from these posts, however, is that, despite the suffering and loss that these people have experienced, they still maintain a remarkable amount of hope for the future and for where their broken lives may go from here. These people have experienced immense heartbreak. These people have aspirations, goals, and dreams. Truthfully, these people are just like me and you. If you allow yourself to look past ethnic and geographical differences this is a fact that is quite easy to see.

Although I am someone who already supports the acceptance of refugees, and argues in favor of it regularly, I have unfortunately seen a lot of negative, hateful language on the opposite side of the coin. In times of trouble it seems as though Americans tend to forget some simple values of acceptance, benevolence, and, most importantly, humanity. While terrorism provides a large sense of fear, uncertainty, and resentment, it also has caused an extremely unhealthy dialogue that is backed by racism and an alarming lack of education.

The fact of the matter is that refugees are not terrorists. Further, Muslims are not terrorists. Making generalizations in that sense is equivalent to saying that all Christians follow the values of the KKK or Westboro Baptist Church, which is certainly not the case. Extremist views and actions have spurred these harsh opinions and we must remember that generalizations on any side of the spectrum are ignorant and harmful. These people do not come here to ruin our lives, but merely to improve their own.

Even further, the transition to freedom and citizenship for refugees is not an easy one. These people cannot simply flee and enter the United States unaccounted for. As illustrated by some of HONY's stories, there is a long application, acceptance, and placement process, and for people who are simply seeking refuge from the villainous acts of others this is painstaking and emotionally and mentally devastating. However, it is worth the struggle in order to continue their lives in a safe environment. I cannot imagine that the violent dialogue against them makes this process any easier.

After viewing HONY's first-hand perspective my gut told me that this dialogue was a necessary one, and one that was far from over. So I posted this on my personal page in response, "Anyone who is against accepting refugees into this country, whether out of fear, uncertainty, or plain ignorance, should seriously consider taking a look at Humans of New York's most recent series of stories. These people are just that: people. Their lives have been torn apart by conflict and war, but they are beautiful, kind, intelligent people who have so much to contribute to our country, and to the world as a whole. If this does not change your opinion, then I'm sure nothing will, but at least attempt to educate yourself before you spew violent hatred and attack other people just because they are not like you. Just think, how would you feel if you were in their shoes?"

So I urge you, regardless of political affiliation or agendas, to take a moment to walk in the footsteps of these people. This is extremely difficult for many of us to do as we will never know the feeling of growing up and trying to survive in a place that is so incredibly violent and unstable. However, how would you feel if these people were your children, your parents, your brothers and sisters, or your friends? I am sure that you would seek an escape and that you would want those there to welcome you with acceptance, understanding, and encouragement. It is time for us to see beyond skin color and ethnicity, beyond religious affiliations, beyond political agendas, and, most of all, beyond stereotypes. Ask yourself this, "When did we forfeit our simple sense of humanity?"

Be sure to check out all of "Humans of New York's" amazing content on both their website and Facebook page.