The future comes one day at a time.

Acheson’s line compresses a pragmatic view of history and decision-making: however grand political plans or personal anxieties may be, the future is not encountered all at once but through successive, manageable increments. The aphorism counsels patience and steadiness—focus on what can be done today rather than being paralyzed by distant uncertainties. In a statesman’s mouth, it also implies that policy is made under conditions of partial knowledge; leaders must act, revise, and learn as events unfold. The phrase thus balances realism (limits on foresight) with agency (daily choices still shape outcomes).