Foo - A fairly in depth question

Heres a question i had to answer for homework, wondering what others thought of it:

How does history, when it is current, affect the development of intellectual and literary culture?

History is written by the winner. How'd you answer it?

How does history, when it is current..

this makes no sense

I think he means how does our current version of history affect the way our culture is.
Kind of like, our current american history of culture still teaches 90% of the kids that columbus discovered america and thomas edison invented the lightbulb even though both of those things are false.
The other 5% believe that the world was created in approx. 6 days.
The other 4% are stoned so they couldn't care less.
And the other 1% aren't really students but rather perverts in their late 20's trying to score some high school tail.

eeeh. Typically i dont mind answering these type of questions, but this ones really a pain in the rear. I've got other work to do, so im calling this one quits for now

Look at how the reaction to 9/11 has affected us as an example. Think of the books that have been written, the music that has been played, look at the affect it has had on everyday lives (at the airport, student and worker visas, etc.), look at the foreign policy it has helped to spawn, and the consequences of the war in Iraq. Look at how America's relations with other nations has changed. Look at how all these changes have brought about divisions between people, and the debates that have been spawned. The noise that gets generated on radio talk shows (though I hesitate to consider that intellectual). This is just one example, and I've barely scratched the surface.

I was also thinking about JR Tolken. This guy breaks new ground with his stuff, and practicly creates fantasy. And from then on, a huge amount of writing has changed.

History is written by the winner. How'd you answer it?
History is written by the person/views that writes it. The south has a sure different version of the civil war than the union states. Its all written on opinions, bias, and belief.