why isn't the use of the bidet more widespread?

It's a joke. The phrase is "better dead than red" and is an anti-communist phrase.

“better red than dead” is a joke - that’s usually a play on political parties or football teams. But what isn’t a joke, something that I’ve heard from american women, is that they’ve dated some american men who:

• don’t masturbate because touching a penis is gay
• don’t wash their penis with soap and water, just water, letting the water run down the penis, but not touch it, because you’d be holding a man’s dick in your hands.
• if they do masturbate, they might just leave their mess on the floor, even if it’s carpet, for years and never clean it. Stains under a computer desk should be treated with a hazmat suit. This is different from the american men who save their mess in jars.. I have no comment for that.
• don’t touch their penis when they pee. that’s what the zipper in the front is for. I mean, doing this in public would mean other men see you with a man’s cock in your hand. That’s .. uh you know…
• don’t get prostate exams (this one may be more self-explainitory, doesn’t make it right though).

And then they (guys who say this stuff) wonder why american men have a mental health crisis. Well (addressing the guys who say this stuff), buddy, part of it is you.