You make several good points. It is true that DBAs are not corporate decision makers. Yet the same could be said of many doctors (working in practice for another doctor, working at a hospital, etc.). If all data professionals (not just DBAs) took such an oath would not the eventual effect be that the folks in control would have no one who would enact policies against such an oath?

You say there is little choice but to implement policies you disagree with or to quit. Perhaps there ought to be more quitting. I know this is a difficult and disruptive thing to go through, but perhaps it is better to be ethically whole than financially flush?

But I do think that I agree with your "bottom line" line. DBAs are not corporate decision makers -- and we need (inter)national laws that mandate safe treatment of data with enforceable penalties to be enacted otherwise.